Latest news

China Unicom has said they are doing their best to get iPhone 4 smartphones to buyers who pre-ordered the device last week.

Over 200,000 pre-orders were taken before the device went on sale last Saturday but Unicom only got 50,000 out on launch day before exhausting their supply.

As of today, 100,000 units have been sold, meaning there are still a significant number of consumers waiting for their device.

Unicom says they should be getting their next shipment on October 1st.

In 2009, Unicom began selling the iPhone 3G, but saw only 100,000 units sold in its first two months of availability.

Speaking about the future of Firefox Home, Mozilla has said today that a true mobile Firefox app for the iPhone is likely not happening, ever.

Firefox Home is the current iPhone app that gives users a way to sync their Firefox history, bookmarks and open tabs from their desktops to their mobile device.

Says the post:

"We are working to bring as much of your Firefox experience as possible to Firefox Home. People have asked about adding more browser-like features to Firefox Home, but there are technical and logistical restrictions that make it difficult, if not impossible, to build the full Firefox browser for the iPhone. We are focused on building Firefox Home as a rich, cloud-based application and making it a valuable product that people will continue to love and use."

Following months of speculation, Nintendo has finally revealed the release dates for its upcoming Nintendo 3DS handheld.

President Satoru Iwata says the 3DS will hit Japanese stores on February 26th, 2011, and then the US/European markets one month later.

In Japan the handheld will retail for ¥25,000 (about $300 USD) but the prices for the European and American models were not revealed.

At launch, the system will be available in "Aqua Blue" and "Cosmo Black" colorways.

The company also revealed the first 10 launch games for the system which are: Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, Nintendogs + Cats, Pilotwings Resort, Pro Baseball Spirits, Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle, Ridge Racer 3D, Samurai Warriors Chronicle, Steel Diver, Super Monkey Ball, and Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition.

Both Roku and TiVo have announced today that Hulu Plus will be headed to their set-top boxes in the upcoming weeks.

Hulu Plus is the premium streaming subscription service from NBCU, ABC and Fox that offers back catalogs for popular TV shows.

The service is $10 a month.

Roku offers set-tops for as low as $60 while TiVo's "Premiere" boxes will run you $300, plus a monthly $13 subscription fee.

Although there have been discussions, CBS remains the lone holdout from the major broadcasters to join Hulu, preferring to have its shows available from CBS.com.

Financial firm Goldman Sachs has said today that Apple's second-generation iPad tablet will include a camera and a mini-USB port.

The device will also be lighter than the current iteration.

Apple may also be planning a smaller device, most likely at 7-inches.

If accurate, the device will fall in line with other new tablets, such as the RIM PlayBook and Samsung's Tab, both of which have cameras, USB ports and 7-inch diagonal screens.

Goldman's analysts also say Apple should have no problem fending off new tablets but next summer the real "battle" will begin, when tablets with Android 3.0 are hitting the market.

The new iPad should be released in the Spring of 2011, likely around the one-year anniversary of the launch of the original.

Thanks to the iPhone Dev Team, consumers will soon be able to jailbreak and install apps on their new AppleTVs.

Using a tool dubbed Shatter, users can unlock the Apple TV firmware.

Shatter has already been used to jailbreak the iPod Touch 4 and AppleTV uses the same operating system.

Wired says "the hack was carried out on the firmware restore download that has just been posted by Apple. This file, which contains the entire OS of the Apple TV, is an IPSW file, the file-extension for iPhone and iPad OS files."

Existing AppleTV hacks may work on the updated devices, and new apps like Hulu on the iPad may be able to work, as well.

Apparently, all the binaries of the new AppleTV are marked iPad-compatible.

AOL CEO Tim Armstrong has confirmed today they have acquired the very popular technology blog TechCrunch.

TechCrunch was founded in 2005 by Michael Arrington.

GigaOM, a rival tech blog, first broke the news yesterday that a deal was in the works.

At TechCrunch’s Disrupt conference, Arrington and Armstrong signed the actual contract on stage, in front of a full audience.

AOL's only condition is that Arrington stay as part of the site until 2013, at least.

The reported price for the acquisition is $25 million, even though the site reportedly brings in $10 million per year.

Last week we reported that the group "Anonymous" had taken down multiple websites relating to anti-piracy firms, starting with the MPAA and AiPlex Software and then taking down the RIAA.

Dubbed "Operation Payback," the protest revolves around DDoS attacks on the firm's main sites.

Following on from the other DDoS attacks, another wave has hit anti-piracy sites, this time taking down AFACT, the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft.

AFACT adds that a large number of sites hosted by their host (Negregistry), have been attacked as well.

8000 sites to be exact. "A lot of these sites are small Australian businesses and Government web sites," says Negregistry. "They have been affected by this senseless act."

With that, Operation Payback continues.

Microsoft has announced it will hold a press conference in Europe on October 11th and it is expected that the company will officially announced the first Windows Phone 7 devices.

The press event will be held in London and will offer a "hands-on opportunities with WP7 devices."

Dates have been conflicting since Microsoft has yet to give an official launch date for the devices, with many sites claiming October 21st while others claim November 8th.

There is a chance that all the numbers will be correct in some way, with the company showing off the phones on the 11th, announcing pricing on the 21st, and having phones hit stores the next month on the 8th.

Microsoft recently said tethering, along with copy/paste and full multitasking have all been stripped from the 1.0 software release, but will make comebacks in future firmware updates.

Just days after receiving a pledge of $100 million from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Newark Mayor Cory Booker has said he has raised $40 million from private donors in his ongoing effort to match the gift.

"I am so grateful that so many are stepping forward after Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement to answer our call to action and share our commitment in the limitless potential of Newark’s students," says Booker.

The money will all go towards the struggling Newark public school system, which is one of the nation's highest funded but one of its most under performing.

Newark has 280,000 residents, 70,000 of which make under $10,830, the Federal Poverty Level. Only 51 percent of students graduate high school, and 85 percent of those that do need remedial help in English or Math.

Booker says the city may close the worst schools and fire teachers, and that the money will not be used towards private-schools.

Following many reports that Sony's latest PlayStation 3 firmware update, version 3.50, blocks third-party controllers, popular accessory maker Mad Catz has said it will replace any affected controller.

That being said, Mad Catz says that "all Mad Catz products will continue to function" even after the update, with the exception of a few models from 2008 and earlier.

3.50, as reported by angry PS3 owners, blocks third party peripherals, accessories and USB storage devices.

Sony's response was that the ban would block "dangerous counterfeits," mainly controllers that Sony says have a chance of exploding. Most seem to think the move is a way to stop more products from being used to jailbreak the console.

Users have claimed that Mad Catz's 2008 Wireless PS3 GamePad, 2008 Wired PS3 GamePad and PS3 Wireless MicroCon have all ceased working after the update.

Says the accessory maker: "Mad Catz would like to take this opportunity to put gamers' minds at ease. With the exception of a small quantity of controllers sold before 2008, we believe that all Mad Catz products will continue to function as they did prior to the 3.50 Firmware update."

Verizon will release the limited edition Motorola Droid R2-D2 smartphone on September 30th, says the carrier, making it available online and in retail stores.

The phone is a Droid 2 customized with a Star Wars theme, running on Android 2.1.

Verizon is selling the device for $350 with contract, but buyers receive a $100 debit-card rebate with the purchase.

The regular Droid 2 costs $200 with contract.

Droid R2-D2s comes in "a custom box resembling carbonite," and is stocked with "Star Wars-related ringtones and wallpapers."

The German tabloid Bild is reporting today that the upcoming Nintendo 3DS will hit Japan on November 11th and then the EU in the "Spring of 2011."

Additionally, the tabloid says in Europe the handheld will be priced at €200.

In the past the paper has made some accurate reports on upcoming gadgets, including predicting Satoro Iwata's announcement of the Wii-mote in 2005.

The Bild is the best selling paper in all of Europe, but it is important to take this story as rumor because the tabloid tendencies of the paper and its shaky reputation for accountable reporting.

Nintendo has long said the 3DS would be released in 2011, and Iwata will announce the launch dates and pricing on Wednesday during a press event.

Three of the handheld's launch titles will be Mario Kart 3D, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, and Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle.

RIM has unveiled their long-anticipated Playbook tablet today, throwing their contender into the market dominated by the Apple iPad.

"Every successful professional has a great PlayBook," said Mike Lazaridis, co-CEO of RIM.

The tablet will measure in smaller than the iPad at just 7 inches, but it is thinner at 9.7 millimeters.

Furthermore, the tablet has a rear and front-facing camera, and the ability to natively playback Flash videos.

BlackBerry smartphone owners can tether their devices and use the 3G on the tablet.

The Playbook will not run on RIM's new BlackBerry 6 OS, however, instead it will run on a brand new mobile operating system created by QNX Software, which was acquired by RIM earlier in the year.

On Thursday, Blockbuster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, meaning hundreds of stores will close over the next month as the company restructures.

Through bankruptcy, the company will eliminate about $900 million in debt, leaving the company with $125 million in debt to its senior bondholders. Other bondholders have been wiped out. Blockbuster's common stock currently trades at 5 cents, meaning for the most part, all long term shareholders have been wiped out, as well.

CEO Jim Keyes said the restructuring will allow Blockbuster to "continue to transform our business model to meet the evolving preferences of our customers."

Blockbuster has "a well-established brand name, an exceptional library of more than 125,000 titles, and our position as the only operator that provides access across multiple delivery channels -- stores, kiosks, by-mail and digital," added Keyes.

The company has about 3000 stores currently, with plans to close up to 1800 over the next year. 1000 closings were unveiled before the bankruptcy.

Throughout the bankruptcy, all stores and kiosks will remain open for current members.