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Early this morning, the WSJ revealed that a new Apple iPhone was coming this summer, although they had very scarce details.

Says the article: "Apple plans to release a new version of its current iPhone this summer, continuing its practice of annual upgrades at about the same time of year, said people briefed on the matter. The model is likely to be thinner and have a faster processor, two people familiar with the device said."

Later in the day, John Gruber of DaringFireball revealed some specs for the upcoming "iPhone HD," which should see launch in the summer.

Says Gruber: "And they have no actual details of the next-generation iPhone. Nothing. Not the A4-family CPU system-on-a-chip. Not the 960 × 640 double-resolution display. Not the second front-facing camera. Not even the third-party multitasking in iPhone OS 4. All they have is that there’s going to be a new iPhone this summer, period."

The iPhone HD rumor mill has begun.

Verizon Wireless , who for weeks has been promising the release of the Android 2.1 firmware for Motorola Droid owners, has started rolling out the firmware as an OTA update.

However, the rollout will be staggered so some users will not get the update until Thursday or even later.

Reads the official memo:

Starting 03/30/2010, Verizon Wireless is pleased to announce a new software update for the DROID by Motorola. Users will be able to upgrade their software to version AP: ESE81/BP: C_01.3E.03P to receive new improvements and enhancements.

*Key Advantages:*

o Email - Yahoo Mail is now supported - customers can simply
sign in with their Yahoo! Email address and password. Note:
Yahoo! Email is not available over Wi-Fi
o Pinch to Zoom now available in the Browser, Maps, and Gallery
o Speech-to-Text - Customers can now use their voice instead
of typing whenever a text-entry box appears
o Google Goggles is now preloaded
o The new Gallery application uses 3D layout and shows both
pictures taken with the customer's Android device and images
from Picasa Web Albums account online

Zune HD users should be pretty happy to hear that firmware v4.5, first leaked in January, is "coming soon," and will bring native XviD support to the device as well as streaming Smart DJ.

Microsoft says the player will soon have native support for the MPEG-4 Part 2 ASP codec, and the player will playback XviD videos, which is still the codec of choice for most videos downloaded online. The format will play via your HDTV as well if you own the Zune HD Dock.

Smart DJ playlists, a "Genius"-esque song playlist creator, will also be available on the player and not just the desktop software.

TomTom,, the popular GPS maker, has announced that they will begin offer "lifetime map updates," a feature that gives customers automatic updates to the latest digital maps when they become available instead of needing to download them manually.

Adds Jocelyn Vigreux, president of TomTom: "Roads are continually changing– from new street names to closed bridges - so it's important for users to always have the most up-to-date maps. With the introduction of Lifetime Map Updates, customers can rest assured that the directions their TomTom device provides will always be the most accurate and efficient available."

The lifetime map updates will use "Tele Atlas" maps, which are continually updated with millions of miles of road and points of interest.

The company says "in order to download TomTom’s Lifetime Map Updates, TomTom users need to simply connect their device to TomTom HOME, TomTom’s free desktop software, and if map updates are available, they can be downloaded to the device. Registered TomTom users will be notified of new map updates as they become available. Typically, Tele Atlas releases maps on a quarterly basis."

Yesterday we reported that Sony was set to kill off the popular "OtherOS" support feature of older "fat" PlayStation 3s on April 1st with a firmware update.

Notable iPhone hacker "Geohot" has posted today on his blog that he is working on a CFW (custom firmware) that will work around the dropping of OtherOS support, also telling PS3 owners to avoid updating their consoles, for the time being. Says the post:

"A note to people interested in the exploit and retaining OtherOS support, DO NOT UPDATE. When 3.21 comes out, I will look into a safe way of updating to retain OtherOS support, perhaps something like Hellcat's Recovery Flasher. I never intended to touch CFW, but if that's how you want to play...

Two things, some people seem to think CFW will enable some sort of piracy. It won't. It'll just be a custom version of 3.21 that doesn't lose OtherOS support. Hacking isn't about getting what you didn't pay for, it's about making sure you do get what you did.

After years of planning and months of coding, we're happy to announce the launch of Spanish AfterDawn. Spanish version is the fifth localized version of AfterDawn - and second one for this year.

As with the other locales, the Spanish version differs from its big sisters (namely, English and Finnish sites that have been up and running for more than a decade) in a way that only selected site areas have been translated. Spanish version launches with:

• Software section
  • Selection of appx. 500 software items with translated descriptions and another 2000 with download links (but no descriptions yet)
• Discussion forums
  • Obviously still very, very empty. But help us out to get the Spanish forums up and running by posting there too.
• Tech support
  • Same as with forums -- empty, waiting for you guys to get the ball rolling with this one.

Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb has had his Xbox Live account hacked by a "hacker" calling himself GoDxLiGHTzz. Hryb is the Director of Programming for XBL.

Hryb's account had the name, location and biography information changed.

LiGHTzz also offered to hack "any account" for $60 via PayPal, although it is unclear how the hacker got access to Hryb's account.

In under 24 hours, Major Nelson had his account back, however. "I have control of the account. The enforcement team took care of it."

Starting on April 1st, with the PlayStation 3 firmware update v3.21, Sony will kill off the "Other OS" feature which had given "fat" PS3 owners the ability to install Linux on a second partition.

Patrick Seybold, Sr. Director, Corporate Communications & Social Media says the move was made "due to security concerns."

Seybold says the update is optional but if users choose not to update they will lose:

* Ability to sign in to PlayStation Network and use network features that require signing in to PlayStation Network, such as online features of PS3 games and chat
* Playback of PS3 software titles or Blu-ray Disc videos that require PS3 system software version 3.21 or later
* Playback of copyright-protected videos that are stored on a media server (when DTCP-IP is enabled under Settings)
* Use of new features and improvements that are available on PS3 system software 3.21 or later

Google, which announced last month that it will begin building an ultra fast broadband network to service up to 500,000 customers around the United States, (with speeds advertised at about 100 times the current average speed for broadband connections) has said today that 600 communities applied for the experiment, as well as 190,000 individuals.

"As we narrow down our choices, we'll be conducting site visits, meeting with local officials and consulting with third- party organizations. Based on a rigorous review of the data, we will announce our target community or communities by the end of the year," adds James Kelly, a product manager.

One of the most headline-grabbing lobbying efforts done by a community was from Topeka, Kansas where the mayor temporarily changed the name of the entire city to Google, Kansas.

The DSi XL handheld goes on sale in North America tomorrow, but there appears to be one hitch for current DSi owners that are thinking of making the change to the larger-screened new addition to the handheld market.

DSiWare games, downloadable games that cost anywhere from $0.99 to $20, will not be available for instant transfer to the XL, even if you already purchased the games for your DSi.

Says Kotaku: As of now, a spokesperson for Nintendo confirmed to Kotaku, the gaming giant offers its consumers no ability to transfer their purchases from one DSi to the bigger screen XL. But the rep did give a sign that a change in policy could be coming: "We're looking into that specific topic, but we don't have anything to announce at this time."

The problem stems from the fact that Nintendo does not have a sustainable account (such as XBL, or PSN) where user's purchases are listed and are available for download again as long as you are signed in your own account.

The XL will cost $199 USD and has screens 93 percent larger than the DSi.

According to a new Reuters update, launch day Apple iPads may be already sold out, with customers who pre-order now not receiving their tablet device until April 12th, 9 days after launch.

Taiwanese parts makers have placed initial estimates on iPads available at launch at around 300,000, and the WSJ said earlier in the week that at least 200,000 have already been pre-ordered so it appears that Apple may already be having supply issues for the huge demand.

The iPad, available in a few different options, with prices ranging from $500 to $800, is Apple's biggest launch since the iPhone in 2007 and certainly has gigantic hype.

NPD reports that 25 percent of all 18-to-34-year olds surveyed want to purchase an iPad, with those consumers with $100,000 or greater income also seeing high percentages.

George 'Geohot' Hotz, the teenage hacker known globally for hacking the iPhone, has said this week that the iPad may already be "jailbroken" when it hits customer's hands on April 3rd.

Dubbed "untethered jailbreak," Geohot says "the jailbreak is all software based, and is as simple to use as blackra1n. It is completely untethered, works on all current tethered models(ipt2, 3gs, ipt3), and will probably work on iPad too."

Blackra1n is the utility that current jailbreaks up to iPhone OS 3.1.2.

Albert Gonzalez, the 28 year old hacker convicted of stealing and reselling over 170 million credit and ATM card numbers, has received 20 years in prison for his role in over 20 counts of identity theft, wire fraud, computer fraud and conspiracy that led to $200 million in losses for banks, insurers and retail companies.

The hacker stole the credit card numbers using sql injection and packet sniffer malware software to create backdoors into the corporate systems of retailer chains TJX Companies, BJ's Wholesale Club, OfficeMax, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority and Dave & Buster's. Gonazalez and two other conspirators also used wardriving, hacking using accessible Wi-Fi in retail stores.

At the time of his arrest Gonzalez forfeited his Miami condo, a 2006 BMW 330i, thousands of dollars in jewelry and $2.7 million USD in cash.

As rumored, Microsoft will be adding USB memory support to the Xbox 360, starting April 6th with a system update.

Reads the post from Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb:

"On April 6th, we will be releasing a system update over Xbox LIVE for your Xbox 360 that will allow USB flash drives to be used for storing profiles, game saves, demos and more. I’ve been testing this feature out for a few weeks, and I have to say it’s really great. Once you take the system update on April 6th, you’ll be able to connect your USB flash drives to your console and head over to the memory section to configure your new storage device. Once you do that, the system will conduct a one time performance and integrity check to confirm the drive is working properly. You will then be able to configure how much storage to use on the device, up to 16 GB. The remaining space on the flash drive will be accessible by your PC or Mac. USB Hard drives may work, but like flash memory, you’ll only be able to use up to 16GB of space. Since performance on flash based USB storage is usually better, I highly recommend using flash based instead of spinning media like a hard drive…it’s just going to give you a MUCH better experience.

Ubisoft has "apologized" for downtime experienced by legitimate owners of their games that include "always on" DRM by offering free games to those affected.

The publisher first made headlines when it announced the DRM which made it so gamers must be always connected to the Internet, or not be able to play the game. If you are ever disconnected from the Internet (or Ubi's servers go down), you are forced back to the main menu, losing any progress you made between save points.

Hackers took down Ubisoft's servers just a few days after the games became available, by using a DDoS attack, making it so legitimate players could not play their games, while pirates could.

Ubi is now apologizing by giving free games to select users who were still having issues after the servers went back up. Some were offered a full free game, such as Prince of Persia, while others were given free DLC that's normally included in premium editions.