Rumors of updated iMacs have been flying fast and furious lately, and now it seems like they're getting a bit of credibility -- AppleInsider says retailers, including Apple's own stores, have been told supplies of iMacs and Mac minis are "constrained" and that future orders will go unfulfilled. You heard that right -- the Mac mini, the red-headed stepchild of the Mac line, is now also officially on Refresh Watch. Combined with the rumors of revised and potentially cheaper plastic MacBooks and we're hoping Apple's about to get aggressive with its low-end pricing, but that's probably just wishful thinking.

P.S.- Doesn't that seem like a lot of updates to dish out at once? The savvy rumor connoisseur would be expecting a couple random analysts to mouth off at this point, followed by whispers of an impending event and its cancellation due to "last minute issues." Gene Munster swirls his glass and predicts the MacBook will feature CableCARD slots and function as a DVR. Spring follows winter, winter follows fall.

In a little over 19 days from now, you'll be able to get your CLIQ... ah wait, no you won't, but at least you'll be able to express your interest in getting a CLIQ, which is a good first step, we suppose. T-Mobile has just thrown up its official CLIQ preorder countdown page, which we're thinking the most die-hard Android types out there are probably going to leave running in the background of their machines for the next three weeks until the moment of truth finally comes. In the meantime, you can register for official updates, which -- sorry, T-Mobile, much love -- probably won't come as quickly as we can provide them. Just sayin'.

Garmin and AT&T have announced the launch of the new Garmin Nuvifone G60 navigation phone, which claims as the only 3G phone to fully integrate the world’s best selling GPS navigator with voice, data and mobile web, offering users the same core great features and user experience as a high-end Garmin nuvi aimed to deliver the easy-to-use, advanced and intuitive navigation experience.

“Personal navigation devices are already all about mobility and taking the Garmin experience everywhere as your mobile phone is truly compelling for customers who travel often,” commented Michael Woodward, vice president, Mobile Phone Portfolio, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “We expect the nuvifone to be the guide for local restaurants, the least-expensive gas and the nearest coffee shop for many customers.”

Features Of Garmin Nuvifone G60:

* 3 megapixel camera with auto-focus and geo-tagging capability
* 3.55-inch anti-glare resistive WQVGA (272 x 480 pixels) touchscreen with 65K colors
* Large screen with portrait and landscape view of each screen and virtual QWERTY keyboard on touchscreen
* Comes preloaded with maps and millions of points of interest (POIs) for North America
* Voice prompted turn-by-turn directions that speaks street names to millions of destinations
* “Where am I?” safety feature displays users’ current address and nearest police, hospital and fuel services in one click
* Real GPS receiver with Garmin’s HotFix technology and assisted GPS provide reliable location information in the most challenging conditions
* Ciao! Location-based Social Networking platform that integrates compatible social networks into 1 easy-to-use interface
* Garmin Locate helps users remember where they parked by automatically marking their position while they remove it from the car
* Free access to AT&T’s Yellow Pages, flight status and converter
* Desktop web experience with full HTML browser
* Mobile e-mail like Hotmail, Gmail, AOL mail, POP3 and IMAP
* 4GB internal memory plus MicroSD memory slot expandable up to 16GB
* Talk time: Up to 4 hours ; Standby time: Up to 250 hours

“The nuvifone weaves location into nearly every facet of its functionality making it ideal for people who depend on location to navigate everyday life,” said Cliff Pemble, president and COO of Garmin. “The nuvifone has Garmin’s easy-to-use interface, so navigating to a meeting directly from its calendar or contacts pages, or geotagging an email or photograph with a location stamp, is intuitive, useful and fun.”

Garmin Nuvifone G60 navigation phone which measures 4.4 x 2.3 x 0.57 inches and weighs just 4.8 ounces (battery included) is scheduled to hit AT&T stores starting October 4, 2009 for $299, after $100 mail-in-rebate and 2-year service contract. Furthermore, Nuvifone Premium Connected Services that includes traffic updates, white pages, weather, movie, local events and fuel prices are available for $5.99 per month after a 30-day trial.

Samsung has introduced its new Samsung AMOLED 12M (Samsung SCH-W880) in Korea, which the company claims as the world’s first mobile phone to sport a 12 megapixel camera with 3x optical zoom, featuring world’s most advanced WVGA (800 x 480 pixels) AMOLED full touchscreen display, providing users
a latest camera technology and display technology to enhance their mobile experience.


“Samsung has led the camera phone market introducing the very many first of its kind camera phone – the first 5-megapixel (SCH-V7800, June 2005), the first 7-megapixel with an optical zoom (SCH-V770, July 2005), the first 10-megapxel (SCH-B600, October 2006), and recently, the first 12-megapixel camera phone for global market (Samsung Pixon12, June 2009),” said JK Shin, Executive Vice President, Head of Mobile Communication Division at Samsung Electronics. “The Samsung AMOLED 12M is a living proof of our continuous commitment to introduce the most up-to-date technology to enrich users’ mobile experience.”

Powerful Features And Specifications Of Samsung AMOLED 12M (Samsung SCH-W880):

* Brilliant 3.3-inch WVGA AMOLED full touchscreen display
* 12 megapixel camera with 3X optical zoom, xenon + power LED flash, Touch Auto-Focus (AF) tracking, Smart Auto, Beauty Shot and image stabilization
* Dedicated Camera Power Key provides a real digital camera-alike look and grip feeling
* Fast image saving for next shot enabling users move to next shot within around 2 seconds
* Ability to record 720p HD videos (1280 x 720 pixels) at 30 fps
* Built-in 4GB internal memory, and MicroSD memory expansion slot supporting up to 32GB
* Bluetooth 2.0 and USB 2.0 HS (micro USB) connectivity

The new Samsung AMOLED 12M (SCH-W880) which measures 115.8 x 56.9 x 16.3 mm will hit Korean market by early October 2009 for about 1 million won, but no words on other areas’ availability yet. In addition, Samsung is expected to swap T-DMB (Mobile TV) with Wi-Fi and GPS in an International version of Samsung AMOLED 12M – Samsung M8920.

Apple has announced that over 2 billion applications
have been downloaded from its popular App Store, which the company claims as the world’s largest applications store that includes more than 85,000 apps for iPhone and iPod touch owners in 77 countries worldwide, offering incredible range of apps in 20 categories, including games, business, news, sports, health, reference, travel and more.

“The rate of App Store downloads continues to accelerate with users downloading a staggering two billion apps in just over a year, including more than half a billion apps this quarter alone,” said Steve Jobs, CEO for Apple. “The App Store has reinvented what you can do with a mobile handheld device, and our users are clearly loving it.”

Philips has added a new phone to its Xenium lineup which known as Xenium K700. The touchscreen phone has been improved with media player that supports variety of file formats including RMBV, AVI, FLV, Divx, MP3, WMA, AC, FLAC and APE for enhancing multimedia experience.

Featured with a 2.8-inch touchscreen TFT LDC display with 400 x 240 resolutions, Philips Xenium K700 is also equipped with a 3.2-megapixel camera with auto-focus function as well as video recording. It boasts 48MB of internal memory, integrates with dedicated GPU, supports GSM/GPRS/EDGE 900/1800/1900 MHz connectivity and has built-in FM radio with RDS. Moreover, it is Bluetooth enabled, supports USB 2.0 and microSD memory slot, and comes with 1000mA battery that provides up to 8.5 hours of talk time and up to one month of standby time.

Highlight Key features of the Xenium K700:

* 2.8-inch touchscreen TFT LCD at 400 x 240 resolutions.
* GSM/GPRS/EDGE 900/1800/1900MHz connectivity.
* Supports RMBV, AVI, FLV, Divx, MP3, WMA, AC, FLAC and APE file formats.
* Dedicated GPU.
* 3.2-megapixel camera with auto-focus and video recording.
* 48MB internal memory.
* microSD memory card slot.
* Bluetooth 2.0/USB 2.0/FM-radio with RDS

The availability and the price of Philips Xenium K700 with measurement of 101 x 52 x 13-mm and weighs at 97 grams are not yet announced.

Previously we mentioned about BitFinder that can scan for duplicated files to conserve your hard disk space, but if you are looking for some freeware that can do more than that, then this tiny utility may fit your need. Named as Hard Drive Powerwash, it allows users to clean up some clutter files such as files that are left over whenever you uninstall program or temporary internet files to free them up from your hard disk space.


Once install and launch the utility, users will be brought to a GUI whereby there is a way to do simple setup before running the utility. By default, no filter will be used and it will scan the whole hard disk drive for files that can be cleared. Alternatively, users can selectively scan Internet files which include browser cache, history, cookies or only do drive cleaning with specific types of files to be searched which would definitely narrow down the searching criteria and shorten the searching time. Once everything are defined, just click on ‘Analyze’ radio button and it will scan all the selected categories of files with proper display for quick glance ready for deletion. Next, click on delete will send all these to recycle bin. Good thing is, it will able to summarize how much total space you are able to save after deleting some of these unused trash files.

Let’s try to run this tiny utility by downloading here and see how much space you could save and you would be impress with how much memory capacity you can save and more importantly, it will ensure your PC system is always in optimum condition for more effective daily work.

Set in stone for March, eh? Looks like that ship date slipped just a wee bit. iLuv's curious i1166 -- which plays back an array of multimedia from an array of sources on its 9-inch LCD -- is now slated to ship to the US next month. Originally introduced at CES, the $269.99 device can play back content stored on an iPod, DVD, SD / MMC card or USB drive, though the omission of a screen resolution gives us serious pause. Other specs include twin 3.5 millimeter headphone jacks, an "iPod-friendly" user interface and a bundled remote, none of which justify the lofty asking price in our humble eyes. You and your wallet can feel free to disagree in around a fortnight, though.

We heard the Archos 9 tablet was due alongside Windows 7, but just in case you were worried that preposition would be stretched to the limits of its definition, the company made clear at IDF that October 22nd was the target, making it day and date with Microsoft's latest OS. As for US price, it's a better-than-expected (at least as far as UK currency conversions go) $499 for the ultra-thin tablet. Mark your calendars accordingly, the diehards in the audience have less than a month to prepare their bank accounts. Now if only Archos would do something about that maladjusted resistive touchscreen...

Let's just be brutally honest here: Garmin-Asus' nuvifone G60 is basically the Duke Nukem of phones. We've been following it since before Garmin and ASUS formed their joint venture, since before we had an inkling of what carriers might pick it up, and before other models running other platforms got thrown under the nuvifone branding umbrella. It's been a heck of a ride -- a ride that seemed exciting for the first year or so, but at this point, the phone's stretched our patience to the breaking point and set expectations so unrealistically high that it seems virtually impossible that a US launch could quench our thirst for awesomeness. The world will never know with certainty what took so long -- maybe it was met with a lukewarm response from carriers, maybe the formation of the joint venture set everything back a bunch of months -- but whatever the case, it looks like we'll finally be able to navigate the G60 right into our hands come October 4 on AT&T. With triband HSDPA, a 3.2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, and microSD expansion, the phone really doesn't scream "high end," but AT&T must think that the promise of an authentic Garmin nav experience is enough to command a hefty premium because a two-year deal is going to run $299.99 with a required $30 data plan -- and that's after $100 mail-in rebate. Follow the break for a gander at AT&T's G60 FAQs for salesfolk.


QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:

Q. How does Garmin navigation compare to AT&T Navigator?

A. Both Garmin and AT&T Navigator provide voice prompted turn by turn navigation. One of the main differences between Garmin and AT&T Navigator is that Garmin navigation is fully integrated into email, contacts, SMS, photos and more. This means that customers can navigate to an address sent via text, email or in their address book directly from text, email, or the address book. Customers do not have to leave the application and type the address in the navigation search.

Q. How much does it cost for navigation on Garmin nuvifone G60?

A. Garmin navigation is built into the device price. Once a customer buys the device and puts a SIM into the phone, navigation will automatically work. There is no monthly charge for navigation. This is a great selling feature of the device. Once a customer's contract period is up they can continue to use Garmin navigation as long as a SIM is in the phone.

Q. What services are included with Garmin nuvifone G60 at no additional charge?

A. Customers who purchase the Garmin G60 will receive Garmin navigation with built in maps, web browsing, SMS, YPC, Ciao*, flight status and currency converter at no additional charge.

Q. What is Garmin Premium Services?

A. Garmin Premium services (GPS) is available for $5.99 a month after a 30 day free trial. GPS gives customers real time access to traffic updates, gas prices, white pages, weather, local events and movie listings. To activate GPS customers must click on one of the service icons on the device and accept the terms of service. After 30 days, customers will automatically be enrolled in GPS and will be billed $5.99 a month until they call in to cancel the service (For $5.99 a month the customer gets full access to all of the CPS on the device)

Q. Does nuvifone G60 require a special rate plan (like iPhone)?

A. nuvifone G60 can be activated on any eligible postpaid rate plan. It does not require a special rate plan like iPhone.

Q. Are there any Data plan requirements with Garmin?

A. Garmin requires a $30 data plan. The $30 data plan will give customers unlimited browsing and search. It also covers all data usage for GPS which requires real time updates every few minutes and is therefore constantly "pinging" the network and constantly using data.

Q. Can customers download applications using the G60?

A. All the applications that can be used on the Garmin G60 are resident on the device. Garmin nuvifone G60 does not support download capabilities

Q. Does nuvifone G60 support corporate email?

A. nuvifone G60 does not support corporate email. It supports mobile email clients like Hotmail, Gmail and AOL through POP3/IMAP setup

Q. What is included in the box when a customer purchases the G60?

A. nuvifone comes with all the accessories to optimize in-car use of the G60 including the device, car mount and dashboard mount. It also comes with a USB cable so that customers can easily sync their device to the PC to sync their contacts and/or get map updates from garmin.com

Q. What are some unique selling features of the G60?

A. There are many unique features to the nuvifone G60 including the following:

Where am I – with the touch of a button get the nearest intersection, hospital, police station and hwy

Where's my car - Once a device is taken off the car mount, it will automatically store the location where it was dismounted. Customers can leave with the device in hand and navigate back to the car at a later time (i.e. when shopping in the mall and wants to find the car in the parking lot)

Photo Geo-Tagging- Customers can send/receive pictures with location based information and customers can navigate directly to that location with a push of a button

Q. What is the Ciao application located on the device?

A. Ciao is a social networking application on the device. It allows customers to share location based information with friends, family and people in their social network. Ciao is an application that is included on the device for no additional charge.

Q. Is nuvifone eligible for insurance?

A. Yes! It is Tier 2, $125 deductable.

* Ciao is an application that allows others to track a customer's location. Ciao does not go through AT&T privacy controls. Customers should be informed that this application is available on the device but that it does include tracking capabilities. Registration for Ciao is handled on the device. When a customer selects the Ciao application they will be directed to www.garmin.com for registration.