Kenenter

25 Billion Tweets Were Sent In 2010, And Not All Of Them Were About Bieber

2010-12-13T17:17:00.002+07:00

Twitter has just released their list of top trends on Twitter for 2010. Surprisingly, Justin Bieber did not dominate the list. Instead, the Gulf oil spill did. The service says that 25 billion tweets were sent in total in 2010.

Below, find the list of the top overall trends, followed by the top trends for different categories:

1. Gulf Oil Spill
2. FIFA World Cup
3. Inception
4. Haiti Earthquake
5. Vuvuzela
6. Apple iPad
7. Google Android
8. Justin Bieber
9. Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows
10. Pulpo Paul

News Events:
1. Gulf Oil Spill
2. Haiti Earthquake
3. Pakistan Floods
4. Koreas Conflict
5. Chilean Miners Rescue

People:
1. Justin Bieber
2. Dilma Rouseff
3. Lady Gaga
4. Julian Assange
5. Mel Gibson

Movies:
1. Inception
2. Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows
3. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
4. Despicable Me
5. Karate Kid

Television:
1. MTV Music Video Awards
2. Pretty Little Liars
3. True Blood
4. Walking Dead
5. Grammy Awards

Technology:
1. Apple iPad
2. Google Android
3. Apple iOS
4. Apple iPhone
5. Call of Duty Black Ops

World Cup:
1. FIFA World Cup
2. Vuvuzela
3. Pulpo Paul
4. Dunga
5. Diego Maradona

Sports:
1. Lebron James
2. Wimbledon
3. Manchester United
4. Brock Lesnar
5. Celtics

Hashtags:
1. #rememberwhen
2. #slapyourself
3. #confessiontime (Hashtag started by Usher)
4. #thingsimiss
5. #ohjustlikeme

Apple mysteriously kills jailbreak detection API while hacker boosts iOS security, irony restored

2010-12-13T17:17:00.001+07:00

It's no secret that Apple's been keen to monitor the lot of naughty jailbreakers, but it turns out the company has recently shelved iOS 4.0's jailbreak detection API with no explanation given. While this has little effect on the average user, Network World explains that this is bad news for enterprise IT and MDM (mobile device management) vendors, who will now have one fewer channel for checking whether a user's iOS device has been jailbroken and thus become vulnerable to attacks. That said, apparently this isn't a huge loss for the MDM vendors, anyway; but the real question is why drop the API now? Could its presence alone be a threat? We'll probably never know.

Fear not, though, as some folks have put jailbreaking to good use. The Register reports that come Tuesday, Stefan Esser of Sektion Eins will demonstrate a tool called antid0te, which reportedly adds ASLR (address space layout randomization) onto jailbroken iOS devices. In a nutshell, ASLR randomizes key memory locations to make it more difficult for certain attacks to locate their target data. According to the famed white hat hacker Charlie Miller, this technique is already present on Windows Phone 7 and desktop Windows since Vista, but Apple's only dabbled with it on OS X and not on iOS. Now, this doesn't mean that jailbroken devices will be fully safeguarded, but some protection is better than no protection, right?

Now Katy Perry is a sexy Santa as her festive tour rolls into Miami

2010-12-13T11:17:00.003+07:00

Katy Perry pulled yet another kooky Christmas costume out of her stocking last night as she led the Jingle Ball concert to Florida. The pop star dressed up as a thoroughly racy Mrs Claus outfit for the performance in Miami. She has previously dressed up as a candy cane and a toy soldier for the festive tour, which has also stopped in New York and Los Angeles.

Her latest confection featured a red satin leotard with white fur trimmed plunging neckline and a flaring fur-trimmed skirt left open to reveal her trim figure. Finishing off the look were white gloves, a fur-trimmed Santa hat and red lipstick to match.

But the 26-year-old wasn't all glitz and glamour - she wore comfortable workman's boots so she could easily move around the stage during her performance.

Then three Santas appeared to kneel and pay homage to the lovely Mrs Claus as she stood holding her microphone out to the audience.

The stage was festively decorated with giant snowflakes and a large Christmas tree.

The Mrs Claus costume appears to be a favourite look for the star, who performed at last year's annual Jingle Ball in a similar look.

This year she was joined by American Idol winner Adam Lambert and Enrique Eglesias.

While Katy has been hard at work, her husband Russell Brand has been busy promoting his new film, The Tempest.

The comic appeared this week on the Late Late Show to promote the movie, which also stars Helen Mirren, where he instead got talking about his former life of promiscuity.

Russell, who married Katy in India in October, said: 'I was having sex with different women three, four, five times a day. In Ireland, nine in one evening.'

The 35-year-old added: 'The fame and kind of will that I had meant that, instead of taking someone for a date and then going to the pictures and then calling them, I was able to go, "Let's do sex right now!"'

But according to Katy, he is very satisfied these days.

She said in an interview with Maxim this month: 'Like Ludacris rapped, "I'm a lady in the street and a freak in the bed."

'I can't rate myself, but if you ask Russell I'm sure he'd give me a ten out of ten.'

Katy said in the interview that her husband's promiscuous past is not an issue.

'He's made no secret of what his life was like before me, but that's then and this is the future.'

Neil Patrick Harris' First Xmas as a Dad: "I'm Very Excited"

2010-12-13T11:17:00.001+07:00

Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka are getting ready to mark their first Christmas as new dads.

So what will two-month-old twins Gideon Scott and Harper Grace be getting from Santa? Read on to find out what Harris just told us...

"It's fun," Harris says of celebrating the holidays with the babies. "I'm very excited."

Even so, that doesn't mean he and Burtka are going to spoil the little ones: "They don't know how to focus on anything, so presents would be a bit out of their grasp," Harris explains.

We chatted with the How I Met Your Mother star yesterday in L.A. at Spike TV's Video Game Awards, which he hosted. As y'all aready know, he's also hosted the Tonys and the Emmys, among other awards shows.

Advice for first-time Academy Awards hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco? "I don't think [they] need any advice from anyone," he said. "They're at the top of their games regardless of what they do and have proved themselves over and over. They are great choices."

What about Harris hosting the Oscars someday? He laughed, "I don't think my movie cred is what it should be."

Don't cut yourself too short, Mr. Harris. We think you'd do pretty well yourself hosting Hollywood's biggest night of the year.

Amazing Race: Host Phil Keoghan Picks a Winner

2010-12-13T11:16:00.002+07:00

Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan swears on his passport that season 17's finale, which airs Sunday on CBS, is chock full "memorable and very cool moments."

And that's saying a lot considering this season saw a contestant get a runaway watermelon to the face, an on-air proposal, the longest penalty and a team who slept through their pit stop departure time by more than two hours.

"It's hard to believe, but this is the first time in our series history that we've ended the race in Los Angeles. Nothing like maneuvering your way to the finish line through L.A. traffic," Keoghan told PEOPLE recently. "We have one challenge where teams literally have to face their fears and phobias in order to avoid choking with $1 million on the line."

And a bonus: "Look for a surprise appearance by one of the most famous game show hosts of all time," he says.

It's also the best chance in series history for an all-female team to be crowned the winner with two of the three remaining duos lacking a Y chromosome.

"I know the first person I would hear from is my daughter," he says. And while Keoghan understands why his daughter and viewers are thrilled at the possibility, the host reminds them not to put the cart in front of the horse. "As I keep telling her, the great thing about The Amazing Race is that it's a fair competition," he says. "You can't write the script."

Final Three

Not that he hasn't sized up the competition.

The doctors Nat Strand, 31, and Kat Chang, 35, "epitomize strong, independent, intelligent women." He feels their chosen career path both helps and hinders them. "Their experience in medicine helps them stay calm under pressure and make calculated decisions," says Keoghan. "[But] their calm demeanor could work against them when the race calls on them to operate at full speed."

The couple, hairstylist Jill Haney, 27, and ad sales director Thomas Wolfard, 30, "are a highly competitive team who isn't afraid to step over anyone or each other to win." But the couple's path to the finale has been anything but smooth. "When the pressure mounts, there is a disconnect that occurs that creates a rift and weakens their chances of running an efficient race."

Despite misreading a clue in the second-to-last leg and seemingly bickering with growing frequency, the Home Shopping hosts Brooke Roberts, 27, and Claire Champlin, 30, have run a strong almost error-free race. "These two finish each other's sentences," he says. "They're completely in sync," but he adds, "while they're a mental match, physically Brooke takes a leadership role and when it really matters most, they may not be able to meet each other's expectations."

Selena Gomez Explains "Cuddly" IHOP Date With Justin Bieber

2010-12-13T11:16:00.001+07:00

Pancake passion?

Justin Bieber fans saw red when the teen phenom was snapped arm-in-arm with Selena Gomez in Philadelphia on Thursday -- following a one-on-one breakfast at an International House of Pancakes, where TMZ reports the duo were "cuddly" and holding hands inside.

But Gomez, 18, tells Us there was nothing romantic about their syrupy-sweet outing.

"It was pancakes! Oh my gosh!" Gomez told Us Friday at Z100's Jingle Ball in NYC. The Disney star said the Bieber, 16, is "one of my best friends...It was just pancakes!"

In a chat with MTV News, she added,"Who doesn't like pancakes? We were both performing in the same place so we went and had pancakes together. That's all it is. All innocent."

She explained how they got close in the first place: "I love Justin. When he first started to come over from Canada his manager contacted me and he just said that he would like to meet me and he was just such a good kid...I feel like a big sister now, 'cause I want to protect him."

Motorola's 10-inch Honeycomb tablet meets Mr. Blurrycam, shows off Verizon logo

2010-12-13T11:15:00.004+07:00

By now you're probably familiar with this slate, seeing as how Google's Andy Rubin recently unveiled it on stage, but we're willing to bet you've never seen the top edge -- you know, the part now bearing a front-facing webcam and a conspicuous Verizon tattoo. Yes, this is Motorola's 10-inch Honeycomb tablet, and it's playing for Team Red just as foretold, though the tipster who obtained these images isn't sure whether it will bear the name Stingray, Everest or even potentially "Trygon." Spec-wise, we're told our previous tipster was right on the money, and it'll have a 1GHz Tegra 2 T20, a gyroscope and 32GB of storage underneath that 1280 x 800 multitouch screen, as well as 512MB of RAM and and a slot for an up-to-32GB microSD card. It also sure looks like there's a micro-USB jack, a mini-HDMI port and a 3.5mm headphone socket, as well as some contacts for a likely dock, though as always Mr. Blurrycam's handiwork is such that we can't quite tell. No matter -- see for yourself in the gallery below.

Nicole Richie and Joel Madden Tie the Knot

2010-12-13T11:15:00.003+07:00

The father of the bride, Lionel Richie, hosted the wedding at his 28-room Los Angeles estate as Nicole Richie, 29, married musician Joel Madden, 31, after four years and two kids together.

Guests included Gwen Stefani, Ashlee Simpson, Kris Jenner and the groom's twin brother, Benji Madden (Joel's Good Charlotte bandmate), as well as one very unexpected guest: Before the ceremony, People.com reports, a trained elephant was seen being led onto the grounds -- where large white tents had been set up amid the estate's gardens. There's been no word yet on how exactly the pachyderm participated in the nuptials.

The weather was warm, the guest list was around 130, and the bride reportedly went with a Marchesa gown and Neil Lane ring. "They wanted an Old Hollywood, glamorous feel to their wedding," says an inside source. "Nicole wanted a memorable, elegant affair for only their closest friends and family on their special day."

The couple have been together since 2006, and are raising two children together: daughter Harlow, 2, and son Sparrow, 1. "Nicole and Joel are the perfect example of the kind of parent I want to be one day," doting uncle Benji Madden told PopEater earlier this year.

The newlyweds announced back in February that they were engaged, and the bride celebrated a bachelorette party with friends (including Sam Ronson and Christina Aguilera) in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in September.

Elizabeth Hurley Announces Split from Husband After Cheating Report

2010-12-13T11:15:00.001+07:00

Elizabeth Hurley's three-year marriage to Arun Nayar is on the rocks.

On Sunday, the model-actress, 45, Tweeted: "Not a great day. For the record, my husband Arun and I separated a few months ago. Our close family & friends were aware of this."

Hurley's announcement coincided with a News of the World report claiming her alleged affair with cricketer Shane Warne; the tabloid has pictures and video of the couple kissing, and says that they spent the night together Wednesday at London's Bentley Hotel.

After ending her 13-year romance with Hugh Grant in 2000, Hurley began dating Indian textile heir Nayar in 2002. The duo wed lavishly in March 2007 -- first at a castle in England, and then at a palace in Jodhpur, India.

Hurley has a son, Damian, 8, with former beau Steven Bing.

American Film Institute announces top 10 films

2010-12-13T11:14:00.002+07:00

The blockbusters "Inception" and "Toy Story 3," the Facebook drama "The Social Network," the heist thriller "The Town" and the Western "True Grit" are among the American Film Institute's top 10 movies of the year.

Also on the AFI's list Sunday were the ballet drama "Black Swan," the boxing saga "The Fighter," the lesbian-family tale "The Kids Are All Right," the survival story "127 Hours" and the Ozarks crime thriller "Winter's Bone."

Unlike other film honors, AFI does not rank films or pick one as the year's best. The filmmakers behind the top-10 choices will be honored at a luncheon Jan. 14.

The British monarchy drama "The King's Speech," an Academy Awards favorite, was ineligible because it is a British production, and the AFI awards honor films with largely American backing. But the AFI did present a special award to "The King's Speech."

Another special award went to the education documentary "Waiting for 'Superman.'" It was ineligible for the AFI's top 10, which honors narrative films.

This is the first time the honors included special awards, which allow the group to acknowledge "outstanding work outside the traditional AFI criteria," said Bob Gazzale, AFI president.

The AFI also picked its top 10 TV programs of 2010: "The Big C," ''Boardwalk Empire," ''Breaking Bad," ''Glee," ''Mad Men," ''Modern Family," ''The Pacific," ''Temple Grandin," ''30 Rock" and "The Walking Dead."

The top 10 lists were chosen by two 13-member panels, one each for movies and television.

For film, members included director Lee Daniels, writer Diablo Cody and critics Leonard Maltin, Claudia Puig and Lisa Schwarzbaum. For TV, members included actress Jennifer Love Hewitt, producer Steven Bochco and critics Mary McNamara, James Poniewozik and Matt Roush.

'Mass Effect 3' announced; watch the trailer

2010-12-13T11:14:00.001+07:00

Prepare for an onslaught of video game trailers over the next couple days as we catch readers up on the highlights from Saturday's Spike Video Game Awards.

First, Electronic Arts and studio BioWare finally lifted the veil on Mass Effect 3, the third chapter of the intergalactic saga.

The final title in the Mass Effect trilogy will again feature Commander Shepard as battles an invasion of Earth by the Reapers.

According to the trailer, Mass Effect 3 is slated for release during holiday 2011. No platforms were specified, but the second Mass Effect title launched on PC and Xbox 360, with a PlayStation 3 version due to arrive next month.

"There's so much excitement and energy at a major awards show like the VGAs, and it really helps you realize what an impactful, mainstream entertainment and art form video games are now," said BioWare's Ray Muzyka in a statement. "The anticipation for Mass Effect 3 from our fans was crazy, so we're delighted to be able to finally announce Mass Effect 3 and we look forward to sharing more details about the game with our fans soon in the New Year!"

But enough chatter. Here's that video, courtesy of GameTrailers:

'Narnia" cruises to No. 1 debut with modest $24.5M

2010-12-13T03:29:00.001+07:00

Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp can do no box-office wrong, right? Er, well…

The stars' The Tourist was left stranded with a second-place, $17 million weekend debut, per estimates.

What happened?

Take your pick: lousy reviews; lousy weather (sunny Los Angeles, excluded); an overall blah weekend for Hollywood; etc.

The result was a steep comedown for Depp, whose last film was Alice in Wonderland. It was more in line with 2004's Secret Window, which also happens to be the last time Depp played an ordinary man (by Depp standards).

For Jolie, this is more the norm—she hasn't had a No. 1 opener since Mr. & Mrs. Smith. (At the same time, she's had several money-makers since then, so there you go.)

With a reputed price tag of $100 million, The Tourist has a lot on the line. If Jolie and Depp weren't international draws, their film would be DOA, but they are, and The Tourist isn't. So far, the movie has debuted in a few countries overseas; its worldwide total stands at $25 million.

The latest Narnia movie, meanwhile, seemed to prove that opening No. 1 isn't necessarily where it's at.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader topped all films with a $24.5 million take that was a long way away from Prince Caspian ($55 million), which itself was so far away from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ($66 million) that the franchise almost ended right there. Quipped Exhibitor Relations in a tweet: "The ship has sailed on Narnia."

Or has it?

The foreign box-office numbers were huge, lifting Dawn Treader's worldwide gross to $105.5 million, and just about helping the film cover its price tag.

Elsewhere, last weekend's champ Tangled fell to third, with a solid $14.6 million, but neared $200 million worldwide. (And perhaps not a moment too soon: The Disney toon reportedly cost in the neighborhood of $200 million.)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (fourth place, $8.5 million; $257.7 million overall domestically) stayed strong, while Natalie Portman's Black Swan (sixth place, $3.3 million; $5.6 million overall) crashed the Top 10 on the strength of only 90 screens.

In extremely limited release, Mark Wahlberg's and Christian Bale's The Fighter killed, earning $320,000 at four theaters for a weekend-best per-screen average.

Here's a complete look at the weekend's top-grossing films, per Friday-Sunday estimates compiled by Box Office Mojo:

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, $24.5 million
The Tourist, $17 million
Tangled, $14.6 million
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, $8.5 million
Unstoppable, $3.8 million
Black Swan, $3.3 million
Burlesque, $3.2 million
Love and Other Drugs, $3 million
Due Date, $2.5 million
Megamind, $2.5 million

Rob Pattinson and Kristen Stewart Get Cozy at Cast Dinner!

2010-12-12T10:11:00.002+07:00

The Breaking Dawn cast got some much deserved free time out in Baton Rouge, La., recently, hitting up Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar.

"It was a lot of the cast and crew," a source who was also at the restaurant confirms to E!. "They were in the private back room and seemed in great spirits. Everyone had a really great time."

This obviously included Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, who make no effort to hide their relaysh these days.

Here's the PDA scoop!

"They were sitting down and talking together most of the dinner," dishes our insider who snooped at what was taking place in the private digs. "Wherever Kristen was, he was, and visa-versa."

"[Rob and Kristen] were holding hands at some point, and when they got up to mingle with everyone for a bit he kept his hand on her back," adds the source. "They were really cute. And no one in attendance seemed surprised at their affection."

Jeez, maybe that's because Robsten was so on the moment they first met while making out on Catherine Hardwicke's bed!

With each movie the couple has become increasingly more public with their romance, aside from blabbing about it in the media of course.

And since we have been lucky enough to witness such cuddlefests before, we're sure this dinner was no different.

Love it, or love it?

Put your clothes on - it's a family show! Viewers outraged at Christina Aguilera and Rihanna's racy X Factor performances

2010-12-12T10:11:00.001+07:00

It's one of the biggest TV events of the year, watched by around a third of the British population.

But as the X Factor final kicked off last night, the talent show was accused of straying somewhat from its family viewing credentials as Christina Aguilera and Rihanna put on two extremely provocative pre-watershed performances.

Aguilera wore an extremely low-cut black dress as she cavorted with an army of lingerie-clad dancers while Rihanna thrust her way through her solo performance in pants and strapless bra.

The superstars jetted in from the States to appear on the show, with Aguilera duetting with Rebecca Ferguson and Rihanna supporting Matt Cardle.

But it was as they took to the stage for their second respective performances of the night - before the 9pm watershed - that they raised eyebrows, leading to Twitter being flooded with comments from outraged viewers.

Christina's rendition of Express from her new film Burlesque caused the most upset, with viewer left shocked as she did the bump and grind with her female dancers.

'Is it me, or is anyone else shocked at the raunchy performance from Christina Aguilera, being shown before the watershed?' tweeted Sallywoodings‎.

LottieLovesEwe‎ was similarly taken aback:'Rihanna not so bad but Christina's was just wrong for 8.30 TV!! seriously inappropriate.'

Predicting scores of complaints another Twitter user, WhatsAboutTown, posted the message: 'OMG Christina Aguilera shocking..........how many complaints will ITV get about #xfactor tonight.'

Another, from x_tinamurhill‎, read: 'Rihanna and Christina's performance on #TheXFactor were very inappropriate in terms of clothing and dancing. It's a family show.'

Meanwhile dktom took to Twitter to accuse the two superstars of trying to out do each other with the raunch factor‎: 'I think Christina and Rihanna are trying to out-inappropriate each other. Crikey #xfactor brought me out in a sweat.'

Rihanna was performing her new hit What's My Name having earlier taken to the stage with Cardle to duet on her her Unfaithful number.

Meanwhile Christina leant her support to Rebecca as they sang her hit Beautiful together.

The show was expected to receive around 21million viewers. After Cher Lloyd's exit tonight Matt, Rebecca and One Direction will battle it out in the grand finale tomorrow in a bid to win the X Factor crown.

ITV were unavailable for comment last night.

'Narnia' tops Friday with underwhelming $8.2 mil

2010-12-12T10:08:00.001+07:00

Aslan’s not going to like this. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader led the box office on Friday but got off to a rocky start with $8.2 million, according to early estimates. That puts Fox’s $140 million fantasy epic, the third film adapted from C.S. Lewis’ series of novels, on track for a $24 million opening weekend. By comparison, 2005′s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe collected $65.6 million its first weekend, and 2008′s Prince Caspian debuted to $55 million. Dawn Treader was expected to continue the Narnia series’ box-office decline, but no one thought it’d tumble this much. It’s too early to declare what this soft debut means for the franchise’s future and its supposed next film, The Silver Chair. Also, considering its “A-” grade from CinemaScore audiences, Dawn Treader may hold up well during the rest of December. But this is clearly not the result Fox was hoping for when it secured distribution rights after Disney abandoned the series.

The Tourist, starring two attractive individuals named Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie, also performed below expectations, albeit to a lesser degree than Dawn Treader. The PG-13 romantic thriller snatched $6.1 million on Friday and is on pace for an $18 million weekend. The rest of the top five featured holdovers. Disney’s animated musical Tangled fell 34 percent for $3.4 million, while Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1 descended 50 percent for $2.4 million. In fifth place, the Denzel Washington action thriller Unstoppable showed off its box-office stamina yet again, skidding only 37 percent for $1.2 million and bringing its cumulative tally to $71.7 million.

In limited release, a pair of athletes dominated. The boxing drama The Fighter, starring Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, KO’d $100,000 from four theaters. And, in the other corner, the ballet thriller Black Swan expanded to 90 theaters and fluttered away with $1 million on Friday — enough for eighth place. Julie Taymor’s The Tempest, on the other hand, drew only $14,000 from five theaters. Check back here on Sunday for the complete box office report.

1. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader — $8.2 mil
2. The Tourist — $6.1 mil
3. Tangled — $3.4 mil
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1 — $2.4 mil
5. Unstoppable — $1.2 mil

HTC EVO Shift 4G (Knight / Speedy) gets leaked picture, January 9th release date?

2010-12-12T10:07:00.000+07:00

We'll warn you that we have nothing but the word of an alleged Sprint employee that this is the real deal, but we don't know what else it could be -- if it walks like a duck and quacks like an EVO with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, we're inclined to believe it's the HTC EVO Shift 4G. Factor in the noticeable lack of front-facing camera, silver trackpad and those throwback flat keys, and we're even willing to forgive those hastily penciled watermarks on the keyboard and on top of the clearly 'shopped screen. Even if this shot is legit, we haven't seen the full device yet -- it sure looks like this Knight is wearing a suit of plastic armor around the edges.

In possibly related news, Android Central nabbed an alleged screenshot of a Sprint database showing an "HTC A7373" handset coming to Sprint on January 9th, and while one Russian e-tailer seems to think that codename refers to the GSM-friendly Desire Z, we have to imagine a Knight / Speedy / EVO Shift release is far more likely than a T-Mobile G2 redux on Sprint's CDMA frequencies.

Update: Just to be clear, there are a few things about this image that irk us, not least of which that pasted-on screen. We're inclined to think this might be a dummy unit that was touched up to look like a real phone.

Anne Hathaway is a special guest at Nobel Peace Prize celebrations (yes, really!)

2010-12-12T10:06:00.001+07:00

Anne Hathaway brought an unexpected touch of showbiz glitz to the Nobel Peace Prize celebrations in Oslo, Sweden.

Hathaway turned up to host today's Nobel Peace Prize Concert along with Oscar-winner Denzel Washington, who turns 55 at the end of the month.

The 28-years-old actress was also joined by Barry Manilow, Herbie Hancock and Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman.

Anne and Denzel hosted a news conference earlier today about the concert , which is meant to honour jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, winner of the 2010 Nobel prize.

The 54-year-old received an 11-year sentence last year for "inciting subversion" after drafting a charter calling for multi-party democracy and respect for human rights in China.

China did not allow Liu Xiaobo or his family to attend.

The concert includes performances by Indian singer Rahman, veteran singer Barry Manilow, musician Herbie Hancock, current pop sensation Robyn, plus American singers India.Aria and Colbie Caillat.

Anne made the trip to Europe following a few days in Sydney promoting Love and Other Drugs with co-star Jake Gyllenhaal.

This weekend's events will give the actress a chance to practice her on stage skills before February, when she'll join James Franco to host the Oscars.

The Nobel Peace Prize Concert is always hosted by majors stars.

Will Smith, Tom Cruise and Sir Michael Caine are among those who have hosted in the past.

Miley Cyrus on 'Dangerous Path' and Needs 'Tough Love,' Experts Say

2010-12-12T10:05:00.001+07:00

The controversial videotape of Miley Cyrus purportedly doing a bong hit with a psychedelic herb is putting a dent in her image as a teen idol and could potentially derail her career if she continues using drugs, experts tell PopEater. In this latest scandal involving the Disney star, Cyrus is seen in a video obtained by TMZ taking hits from a bong, which was reportedly filled with a natural herb called salvia, sources told the website. Possession of salvia, which has psychedelic qualities when smoked, is currently legal in California.

"She needs someone to show her some tough love right now," Calvina Fay, executive director of Drug Free America Foundation, Inc., tells PopEater. "She is going down a destructive road and needs to change her ways."

Not only that, says Fay, "she is sending a bad message about using a mind-altering drug to get high. She is a teen idol who is popular, did something that is getting lots of media coverage and appears to have a glamorous life."

But the effects of Salvia or any other drug are far from glamorous, says Fay. In the video, which was reportedly taken at Cyrus's Los Angeles area home five days after she turned 18, "she is seen laughing and appears to be having a good time, which gives the impression that salvia isn't harmful – when it is," she says.

A Dangerous High

Salvia is known to provide a brief-but-extreme hallucinatory experience when smoked. "Salvia a very powerful, mind-altering drug that makes you do very weird, sometimes psychotic things," says Fay. "I saw a video on YouTube of a kid using it who started barking like a dog, but wasn't making any noise. That is not normal behavior, by any means. Salvia clearly alters the brain. We don't know the long-term effects of this drug because we don't have enough research on it yet. "

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration lists salvia as "a drug of concern." According to the DEA's website, "due to salvia's hallucinogenic effects, there is a substantial risk of injury or death as a result of impaired judgment due to disruptions of sensory and cognitive functions."

Scientific American Magazine says that the DEA is currently "looking into the drug" to determine if it should be considered "on par" with LSD and heroin.

Salvia has other harmful effects, says Fay. "Salvia gives you a short, but very intense high, leaving many people wanting to do it again and again because the high doesn't last long. The more you use salvia or any drug, the more potential there is for harm."

A Good Role Model?

This isn't the first time the 'Hannah Montana' star has raised eyebrows in the past year or so. Cyrus has come under fire for underage drinking, for provocative outfits she's worn on stage, for her racy video for her hit song, 'Can't Be Tamed,' and for the leaked video of the then 16-year-old star giving her 44-year-old 'Last Song' director Adam Shankman – who is openly gay -- a graphic lap dance after dirty dancing with partygoers at a wrap party for the movie.

"So often young celebrities say they're not role models - or don't want to be," Tina Wells, author of the 'Mackenzie Blue' series for tween girls and CEO of Buzz Marketing Group, tells PopEater. "But if you make your millions off of teen and tween fans and their parents, then you have a responsibility. I'm sorry - you can't take their money and not own responsibility for how your actions affect your fans.

"It's clear she's on a dangerous path, and at this point, maybe she wants to destroy what's left of her image," says Wells. "It would do her some good to keep her private life private for the sake of her young fans."

Indeed, says Fay, "Children and teens who watch this video or hear about it may think, 'Here is someone who is a seemingly successful, intelligent person who is using this. How harmful could it be if she's using it?' But children and teens don't see the downsides to using this drug – or any drug. There is not a whole lot of research on this drug. What we do know is that it causes hallucinations and can cause very psychotic behavior."

But we don't know its long-term effects, she says, adding that it took years of research to learn that ecstasy can cause the early onset of diseases like Parkinson's Disease. "Are we going to learn something like that about this drug?" Fay asks. "We don't know right now. This isn't something people should be messing around with because it clearly alters the brain."

Fay isn't sure how much this video is going to affect Miley's career. "If you'd asked me that twenty years ago, I would have said yes," she says. "But in today's tolerant society, I'm not sure if it will have any effect on her image or her career unless she gets into some serious trouble. More important than whether this will affect her image or career is – what will it do to her brain and body?"

A Private Party Turned Public

One of the singer's friends shot the video of her doing the bong hit, according to TMZ, which reported that a source said someone may have stolen or copied the video from that person's camera. The video begins with Cyrus taking a hit from the large bong as the song 'Comedown' by '90s rock band Bush plays in the background. After a few moments, she comes up for air and immediately begins to feel the effects of the drug. Soon, she's seeing things that aren't there, including her ex-boyfriend Liam Hemsworth.

"Oh, I'm not gonna lose it now ... I'm going," she says. "Having a little bit of a bad trip! Is that a f**king Liam lookalike or what the hell is that? Is that my boyfriend?"

She then points to her head and asks a friend, "Is it me tripping? Is it me tripping?"

The video closes with a stream of incoherent babbling and grunting from Cyrus and her friend telling her that she is "going to s**t a brick when you see this."

Does She or Doesn't She?

In June, Cyrus told Ryan Seacrest on his KISS FM radio show that she doesn't when people assume that she uses drugs and alcohol. "If I'm ever seen out dancing at a club having fun, I don't want people to immediately go, 'Oh, she's on drugs, she's drunk," she told Seacrest. "I'm never going to be that person. As long as I steer clear of that and keep that mind frame, I think I'll be cool."

"I'm not gonna be like, 'I'll never have a drink in my entire life,' because that's probably going to be a lie. There's a right way to do so -- everything is good in small portions."

She said that family friend Bret Michaels inspired her to stay away from a partying lifestyle. "Having him in my life and him telling me some of stories and some of the dumb crap that happens," she told Seacrest. "He just makes me never want to do that stuff."

Michael's rep declined to comment. Reps for Disney and Miley did not return calls by press time.

Cyrus' father admitted in a statement on Friday that he had "no idea" that his daughter was experimenting. "Just saw this stuff for the first time myself. I'm so sad," he wrote on Twitter. "There is much beyond my control right now."

An Update to Android Market Brings a Brand New Android Market

2010-12-12T10:04:00.001+07:00

In its latest update, Android Market is pretty much starting over. All of the gazillion apps are still there but the interface will look different and the experience will almost be brand new.

On the home screen of the Android Market, a new carousel feature let's users flip through featured apps in a Cover Flow-like style. Google has also added new categories for Live Wallpapers and Widgets and promises more categories for popular apps in the future, too. Once you get to an app's page, you'll no longer see the old tabbed interface but rather a single, "streamlined" page. There's also a heavier use of green, if you hadn't noticed that.

Google will also change the refund time of apps from 24 hours to 15 minutes, so no more gaming the system. They're also upping the maximum download file to 50MB in hopes of landing richer games and offering better support for different screen resolutions and such.

These tweaks and changes all add up to one of the biggest updates to the Android Market since paid apps were introduced. Google says that this brand new Android Market will be rolling out to Android 1.6+ users in the next couple of weeks.

Prince William & Kate Middleton Share Two Official Engagement Photos

2010-12-12T10:03:00.000+07:00

To go glamorous or relaxed in the world's most-anticipated engagement photos? For Prince William and Kate Middleton, the answer was clear: both!

The newly released photos – the official portrait photographs for the engagement of Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton – were captured during a two-hour shoot by fashion photographer Mario Testino, who was hand-selected by the groom-to-be, 28, for the task.

"Prince William has worked with Mario Testino on many occasions before, and so the couple decided that he was the right choice for such an important portrait," said a Clarence House spokeswoman.

Middleton, 28, did her own makeup for the photos (as she did for her televised post-engagement interview), a source tells PEOPLE, though Testino's makeup artist was on hand for touch-ups.

And those famous tresses? The princess-to-be got her hair done by her usual stylist, James Pryce, from the Richard Ward salon.

For the formal photo – which was snapped in the historic Council Chamber linked to Clarence House, the official residence of William's father Prince Charles – Prince William donned a Turnbull and Asser suit, while Kate chose a white Reiss dress and Links earrings. For the dressed-down denim look – taken in the Cornwall Room of St. James's Palace – William changed into a Turnbull and Asser shirt and Brunello Cucinelli sweater, with Kate opting for a Whistles blouse.

Testino is famous for his photos of celebrities and royalty, among them Prince William, Prince Harry and their late mother, Princess Diana.

"I am very happy to have been asked to cover this historic moment that the whole world was waiting for," Testino said in a statement. "They are in their prime and brimming with happiness. I have never felt so much joy as when I see them together."

So, have you been naughty or nice? Katy Perry greets Santa in a tiny toy solider costume

2010-12-12T00:24:00.001+07:00

Katy Perry reported for duty at Madison Square Garden last night in a very skimpy toy soldier costume.

The 26-year-old singer teamed her festive - and rather flirty - costume with thigh-high white boots and fishnet stockings for Z100’s Jingle Ball in New York.

She was joined by no less than three Santas as she cavorted around while performing a medley of her hit songs.

She sang her latest number one hit, Firework, along with Hot & Cold, I Kissed A Girl, Teenage Dream and crowd favourite, California Gurls.

Katy was joined by a host of other stars for the event, including Disney star Selena Gomez.

The 18-year-old star, who was dressed in a low-cut black gown, performed her tracks Round and Round, A Year Without Rain, and Naturally.

She earlier walked the red carpet alone, careful to keep her distance from fellow performer Justin Bieber.

The teen stars sparked rumours of a romance after they were spotted at an International House of Pancakes in Philadelphia on Wednesday.

Onlookers said they were holding hands at the restaurant and a camera caught them leaving arm in arm.

Selena has previously described Justin as 'one of my best friends.'

'Love him,' she said. 'I would do anything for that kid.'

While Selena and Justin stayed well apart, he wasn't short on company.

The 16-year-old singer made a beeline for his old friend Kim Kardashian, 30.

The pair, who starred in a photoshoot together for Elle magazine earlier this year, chatted as they walked the red carpet.

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star couldn't contain her delight before arriving at the event, tweeting: 'So excited!'

She later made a guest appearance on stage with the night's host, Elvis Duran.

Bruno Mars charmed the audience with a performance of his hit songs Just The Way You Are and Grenade.

He also performed Nothin’ On You with B.o.B. and Billionaire with Travie McCoy.

Other guests included Michael Buble, Enrique Iglesias and Jersey Shore star Pauly D.

The Z100 Jingle Ball on will air in the U.S. on Fuse this Thursday.

Natalie Portman is graceful as a swan as she strips down to her garter and négligée

2010-12-12T00:23:00.002+07:00

Black Swan star Natalie Portman swapped pliés and pirouettes for more subtle moves in a seductive new video.

The 29-year-old is seen peeling off her slinky black dress to reveal a garter and négligée in an artistic black and white clip released by the New York Times Magazine to celebrate their Hollywood issue.

The actress is first seen sitting in a chair fully dressed in a long black satin dress, shoulder cape, black suede high heel sandals, long black satin evening gloves and long, curly peroxide blonde wig.

Portman then proceeds to slowly strip down and begins by removing each of her earrings and throwing them to the floor.

Next up she slowly peels off her left glove followed by the right which she discards on the floor next to her.

Then the actress shrugs off her cape followed by slowly removing her dress from her shoulders to reveal a satin teddy underneath.

She stands up briefly to step out of the dress and show off her garter belt and black stockings before sitting back down.

Finally Portman removes her wig and throws it to the floor, leaving just a hair net covering her dark hair.

The clip is part of a full length film made specifically to be distributed with the New York Times Magazine's Hollywood Issue, entitled Fourteen Actors Acting: A video gallery Of Classic Screen Types.

Directed by Solve Sundsbo it features Portman, James Franco, Javier Bardem, Jesse Eisenberg, Chloe Moretz, Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Jennifer Lawrence, Noomi Repace, Vincent Cassel, Anthony Mackie, Robert Duvall, Lesley Manville and Tilda Swinton.

Yesterday a clip was released featuring Franco gazing lovingly at himself in a mirror.

He then proceeds to go through some kind of pick-up routine, tying his best lines out on himself before leaning forward and planting a big wet kiss on his reflection.

The New York Times Magazine says that the chosen actors 'portray not only the art, but also the joy and vigour of performance.'

And that: 'This year, we asked them to do it: to show us — in a few gestures and with a few props but without dialogue or story — what acting is.

'And here they are, striking some of the classic attitudes of cinema, turning their bodies and faces into instruments of pure, deep and enigmatic emotion.'

Meanwhile, Portman is showing off her considerable acting talents, and a whole range of emotions on the big screen in the super creepy psychological thriller Black Swan.

Swan, directed by Darren Aronofsky, follows the fortunes of Nina Sayers (Portman) a technically perfect ballerina, who takes on the lead role in the New York City production of Swan Lake.

Nina is pushed by her overbearing stage mother Erics (Barbara Hershey), a manipulative dance master and an obsessive relationship with her stand-in dancer played by Mila Kunis.

The thrills are heightened by the idea that neither Portman, nor viewers are fully aware of whether Kunis's ill-intentions towards Portman are imagined or real.

Portman recently revealed she worked out eight hours a day to get in shape for her role.

'So many of the emotional scenes happen while she's dancing that there was no way of getting round it,' Portman told Entertainment Weekly.

'I had a double for the complicated turning stuff,' she admits. 'But anything I could do I did myself, I saved the budget hundreds of thousands of dollars in special effects.'

And it seems Portman's hard work has paid off. Both the movie itself, director Darren Aronofsky and Portman are receiving some serious Oscar buzz.

After the film's world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September critics raved.

'Natalie Portman, apparent soon-to-be Oscar winner,' the Washington Pot predicted.

'Evidently Natalie Portman already has this year's Academy Award for best actress all sewn up,' wrote Jan Chaney in the New York Post's Celebritology 2.0 column. 'At least the media buzz coming out of the Venice Film Festival — where her Black Swan just premiered — is making it sound that way.'

The Times of London's Kevin Maher summed it up: 'Portman is astounding ... Awards are sure to follow.'

LG Star preview

2010-12-12T00:23:00.001+07:00

The LG Star. The dual-core beast from the east that was once a mere twinkle in our eye has managed to find its way to the Engadget mansions, having been lent to us by a very generous (and very anonymous) tipster. It's clearly a test device, as evidenced by its diagnostics menus and lack of a lockscreen, but there's no disguising the power that lies within it. We put the Star through a battery of common Android benchmarks and the results were, in a word, outstanding. Basically, Tegra 2 will give anything your current phone's running an inferiority complex. Join us after the break as we delve deeper into this upcoming powerhouse of a handset from LG. One thing's for sure: CES 2011 can't come soon enough.

Before we get to the raw power encased within the LG Star, it's requisite to discuss the phone's external hardware. This isn't a blade server, after all, and people are going to expect their smartphone to look the part too. Some perfectionists will be put off by the generous heaping of bezel at the bottom of the Star and the quirky spine-like column that spans its rear, but on the whole it's mostly an unadventurous and safe design, exuding the same uncomplicated slate aesthetic as most of its contemporaries. There's one device we're immediately reminded of when handling the Star and that's HTC's Droid Incredible -- albeit with the slight (major?) difference that LG's new handset offers a larger 4-inch display.

The 800 x 480 panel on this phone is rather gorgeous. We can tell from its imperfect blacks that it's not an AMOLED display, but it also exhibits viewing angles that are distinctly superior to your run-of-the-mill LCD. Whatever it is, it delivers a lucid and vibrant picture. The glass covering it is flat -- none of that fancy Nexus S stuff -- but slopes off at the sides to soften the edges and improve ergonomics slightly.

A pair of grilles at the bottom of the handset provides the sound output and, presumably, input -- there's only one loudspeaker sat behind one of the meshes, we're guessing the other's occupied by a mic (if that seems familiar, it's because Apple's been doing it for a good while now). We were pleasantly surprised by the loud and punchy sound the Star's solo speaker puts out, which, allied to the strong display, provides the basic competency required of a compelling multimedia phone.

The software on this bad boy is definitely not fully baked yet -- it didn't even have a lockscreen on our first boot yet suddenly discovered one on the second -- so we're leaving that stuff aside until LG itself decides to furnish us with a unit. If you simply must know what the company's slightly tweaked Android 2.2 experience is like, you might want to check out its LU3000 handset, which is about to launch over in South Korea in the coming days.

An additional note worth making here is that the initial Star leak came with the juicy implication that Gingerbread could be the Android version shipping with final units, so we'll have to just wait to find that out. The unknown maturity of the software should also be kept in mind when looking at our benchmark scores -- for all we know, LG could already be testing much better code than the stuff that's on our proto unit. Still, check out the video below for our performance test results, we doubt you'll be disappointed.

Those numbers were also borne out by our hands-on experience with the LG Star, which tracked our homescreen swipes without hesitation or perceivable lag. The unfinished software does chug down quite often, seemingly entranced in an existential contemplation as to where it's going and what it's doing with its life, but the hardware performance is unquestionably top-notch. Hell, it's punching out a new notch all for itself when it comes to raw CPU prowess. Sadly, the Star refused to play back any video clips we loaded onto it, irrespective of format, so we weren't able to verify our suspicion that it's capable of handling 1080p content. YouTube video in HQ mode and Flash clips embedded on webpages played without a hitch.

This is seriously shaping up to be one of next year's highlight devices (and if it isn't, it just means 2011 will be a spectacular year in smartphones). We'd almost call it a return to form for LG, but then the Korean company has never really had the sort of form the Star's exhibiting -- it's never led from the front in the way this handset promises to do. We'll be hoping to see a lot more of the Star at CES, perhaps with some Gingerbread firmware on board... how about it, LG?

Inside The New Michael Jackson Album

2010-12-12T00:22:00.002+07:00

In 2007, Michael Jackson began working on new music that he wouldn't live to finish.

Since the King of Pop's untimely death, several producers and songwriters have picked up where he left off, finishing the album, Michael, out Dec. 14.

"I think he'd be very proud," says producer Tricky Stewart, who worked on "Keep Your Head Up." "If I didn't think he's be proud, I wouldn't do this."

The songs on the album, he adds, appear "as they were written, but it was up to us to produce and deliver them to their fullest potential."

One of those songs, "Hold My Hand," was co-written by songwriter Claude Kelly. "Michael loved everything about it," says Kelly, who wrote the song with rapper Akon. Though the track was originally intended for Whitney Houston, Akon liked it so much that he kept it for himself.

Enter Michael Jackson. When Akon played it for him to get his feedback, "Michael was like, 'I have to get on this; this is me, and exactly what I want to talk about,'" says Kelly.

Like many who worked with the music icon, Stewart has a memorable story of the day he first met Jackson, back in 1993.

"He would send a bunch of stuff to personalize the studio, and in this case, he sent arcade games," says the producer. "I was young and not really thinking and I started playing Pac-Man when I heard this voice – and there's no mistaking that voice – saying, 'You know those are my games, don't you?'"

Luckily, the star was happy to share. "He was really cool and nice about it," Stewart recalls with a laugh. "He even let me keep playing."

Google Says They'll Have Failed if Chrome OS and Cloud Computing Doesn't Become the Norm

2010-12-12T00:22:00.001+07:00

Google has a lot of faith in their Chrome OS. So much, in fact, that they won't be satisfied with anything less than creating a paradigm shift in computer use.

In an interview with SearchEngineLand, Chrome OS product manager Caesar Sengupta went on record in an interview, stating the following:

Do you really see these types of machines taking over from the Windows computers and Macs that many people use now?

I think it depends on the user and the user's behavior. In the long term and the fullness of time, absolutely. I think we will have failed if this doesn't become your default way of computing. But right now, we see hundreds of millions of users who live on the web. For many of these users, this will replace their machines immediately, especially as web apps get better.

Get ready for an onslaught of web apps, folks.

Billy Ray 'So Sad' About Miley Cyrus' Bong Video

2010-12-11T10:45:00.001+07:00

Billy Ray Cyrus caught wind of Miley Cyrus' bong scandal and turned to his Twitter fans for emotional support.

"Sorry guys. I had no idea. Just saw this stuff for the first time myself. I'm so sad. There is much beyond my control right now," he wrote on Twitter.

A video obtained by TMZ shows the 'Hannah Montana' star taking hits from a bong that was reportedly filled with a natural herb called salvia, which when smoked has psychedelic qualities. Possession of salvia is currently legal in California. The video was reportedly taken five days after Miley turned 18.

According to the report, the video was shot by one of Miley's friends and it is very possible that someone stole or copied the video from that person's camera. The video begins with Cyrus taking a hit from the large bong and immediately begins to feel the effects of the drug. Soon, she's seeing things that aren't there, including her ex-boyfriend Liam Hemsworth.

The Cyrus' have been going through a rough time. In October, after 17 years of marriage, Miley's parents, Billy Ray and Tish Cyrus, filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences. Rumor was that singer Bret Michaels had an affair with Tish, but the rocker told PopEater he did not have an affair with Tish and he's not the reason Billy Ray and Tish are getting divorced.

Robert Pattinson Auctions Himself—for How Much?

2010-12-11T10:44:00.001+07:00

So, Twi-Hards. It's time to put your money where your bitchin' mouth is.

How much would you pay to meet Robert Pattinson?

Kristen Stewart's main man was auctioned up for a Breaking Dawn meet and greet, and sold for...

Only $80,000!

One lucky fan (with megarich parents) won a trip to travel to Vancouver with three friends, stay at the Four Seasons, and then head to the über-secret B.D. set where Rob will play host.

The prize was offered on Charity Buzz to raise funds for the GO Campaign, a nonprofit group that supports grassroots projects for orphans and vulnerable children globally.

Too adorbs!

For that amount of money, Kristen better come with and be her charming girlfriend self.

Really though, how much do you think it would have went for if Stewart's cute butt was the one up for auction?

We say more. You?

After all, those crafty Krisbian's don't mess around!

Oh, and here's hoping that the fans get a sneak peek at something being shot for Breaking Dawn: Part 1—and not 2.

"The second movie is pretty boring," sassed Deep Twi.

Back to Stephenie "Bore" Meyer biz as usual, guess.

Google Nexus S review

2010-12-11T10:43:00.000+07:00

It can be difficult to review a phone like Google's Nexus S in a world already populated by so many outstanding Android devices. Not only does the manufacturer of this phone make a series of handsets that are all essentially the same (the Galaxy S line), but countless other OEMs are cranking away on hardware for the platform. Of course, the Nexus S is a decidedly different phone altogether. Picking up where the company's Nexus One left off, the S continues Google's legacy of creating standalone, "pure Android" phone experiences, seemingly aimed less at the mainstream and more towards developers. Unlike the failed experiment of the Nexus One, Google appears to be taking a more realistic approach to the S; the phone will be sold through Best Buy (and Carphone Warehouse across the pond), which suggests that the company has bigger plans for this device.

And what a device it is -- the Nexus S boasts a 1GHz Hummingbird CPU, 512MB of RAM, a 4-inch, 800 x 480 curved Super AMOLED display (dubbed the Contour Display), 16GB of storage, a 5 megapixel rear and VGA front-facing camera, and near field communication capabilities. But hardware is only half the story here -- the big news is that the Nexus S showcases the next major evolution of the Android OS, namely, Gingerbread (or version 2.3). The update comes with a slew of new features alongside some UI improvements that show Google isn't slowing down when it comes to pushing its mobile operating system forward. So is the Nexus S a real standout in the Android world, or is it more of the "me too" tech we've seen lately? Read on after the break for the full review to find out!

Hardware

As you can tell by the photos in the gallery, the Nexus S isn't a plain-Jane slab. Sure, it's got similar design leanings as the other devices in the Galaxy S line, but it's also slightly... freaky. For starters, the shape of the ultra-gloss, stipple-graphic black plastic housing curves and pops in all kinds of unusual ways, with a kind of reverse "chin" sprouting out of the lower half, and a very slight curvature to the front of the phone. You've probably heard the fuss over this, but yes, the screen and front glass of the device have a minor, concave curve which sits nicely when nuzzled against your face. It's not a dramatic difference, but it gives the phone a fairly unique look. In general, however, the design doesn't feel wildly different from other Galaxy S phones -- particularly when it comes to materials. Samsung seems focused on using light (and somewhat cheap feeling) plastic for its housings, though they deviated on the Captivate, which we felt was an improvement.

The front of the device is obviously all screen, save for the earpiece. You can see the proximity and light sensors peeking out from behind the glass, as well as that VGA camera. On the left side of the phone you've got a volume rocker, on the right is the power / sleep button, and along the the bottom is the Micro USB and headphone jack. The latter has been the cause of some concern amongst potential buyers, but we actually like having the headphone jack access down below. Overall, the design of the phone is sleek and frankly odd enough to make it stand out amongst contemporaries, but we wish that Samsung had utilized more inspiring materials on this model.

Internals

As we mentioned, the Nexus S packs in a formidable amount of tech into its small frame (2.48 inches by 4.87 inches, and 0.42 inches thick, in case you were wondering). Any device loaded up with a 1GHz Hummingbird CPU is sure to get our attention, and the performance we've been seeing with the S is nothing short of awesome. On a Neocore benchmark, we scored a terrific 55.6fps, and general use of the OS is lightning fast with nary a hiccup in sight. We also haven't run into any memory issues, and though having 16GB of storage onboard is nice, we would have liked to see a microSD option here as well. Still, the method which Gingerbread utilizes the installed flash memory is excellent, and for those of you who can live with a finite amount of space, this won't be an issue.

Besides the storage and CPU, the device sports a Super AMOLED display at 800 x 480 (235 ppi) which looks gorgeous (if slightly yellowish) to our eyes. The device also has it's fair share of wireless radios, including tri-band HSPA (900, 2100, and 1700MHz), and quad-band GSM / EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz), WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, A-GPS, and that NFC chip you've been hearing all about. There's also a gyroscope, accelerometer, and digital compass inside. We were a little disappointed to discover that Samsung didn't include a notification light on the device -- we like the reassuring blip telling us we've got an email waiting.

As far as that NFC chip is concerned (pictured above), right now there's not a lot to test it with, though Google is hoping that devs will find all kinds of uses for it. Right now it's read only, so you can't write to the device from a target -- that's a security measure right now. When we spoke to reps, they told us that there were three methods of using NFC: read, write, and exchange. Exchange sounds interesting, because it would (in theory) allow you to simply swipe your phone against or near another NFC device and swap contacts (or other info).

We did see some strange issues with the display -- while it does look handsome in most settings, we noticed some troubling inconsistencies in the panel against certain colors or tones. It was particularly pronounced on solid gray backgrounds (as you can see above). We're not sure the cause of the problem (or if it was simply an issue with the device we had), but it was somewhat troubling. One other thing of note -- we noticed a few missed or latent presses on the touchscreen which occasionally led to stuttery behavior or an opened item that we didn't mean to tap. It's hard to say if this was a software or hardware issue (and we know that sometimes Android devices can be particularly finicky when syncing). It wasn't a deal-breaker by any means, but we saw the issue rear its head a handful of times, and felt it was worth mentioning.

Speakerphone / earpiece / call quality / network

The sound quality on the Nexus S is right up there with some of the best phones we've tested. Speakerphone calls and music came through loud and clear over the external speaker, and we were downright wowed with how loud and clear the earpiece sounded. Even when we were having a conversation in a crowded room, the Nexus S pumped out audio that was crystalline to our ears. Coupled with excellent service on T-Mobile's network, we were not only able to make calls where our iPhone failed, but the clarity and volume of those calls were superb.

Connections on T-Mobile's network were excellent in most places, allowing us to make calls where AT&T's network couldn't, though we did see EDGE data crop up on the Nexus S more than our AT&T devices -- and there's no HSPA+ to be found here (unlike T-Mobile's other flagship Android phones), just in case you were wondering. Still, speed certainly wasn't a major issue, and network throughput was decently strong (though not mind-blowing) when we were on T-Mobile's 3G. We averaged about 1.5 Mbps down and up on T-Mobile, and a slightly higher 2 Mbps down and 1.5 up on AT&T in the wilds of Brooklyn.

Camera

We're impressed by the shooter on the Nexus S, but there is something in the quality of its photos that still feel very phone-like to us. In particular, we felt that images looked washed out and grainy even in well lit situations. It could be a fault of the auto white balance or ISO settings, but we certainly were able to produce better results with other phones in this class.

On the bright side, the Nexus S camera seems to excel at low-light images, pulling impressive detail in situations where we expected much less. In fact, we can't say that we've seen a smartphone recently with better low light performance. We're not sure what this is attributable to, but we're certainly happy about it.

Unfortunately for video, the Nexus S is still a slouch -- we're guessing this doesn't have to be the case, but there's no true HD option here. The highest quality video you can shoot is 720 x 480. Kind of a bummer.

As far as the front-facing camera goes, it's pretty standard VGA fare, which mean low-res, grainy, and artifacted. Maybe we're spoiled by all these high resolution shooters, but no matter how you slice it, 640 x 480 is tough to take. We really wish Google would include native video chat feature with its phones -- we're all for third-party apps, but a dedicated, codified piece of software from the mothership would go a long way to making the presence of this camera more useful. Also, remember how you guys make Google Talk with video chat? It's pretty cool. Obviously this is coming in Honeycomb (Andy Rubin kind of let it slip during his Dive Into Mobile chat), but it would be great to have right now.

Battery life

The Nexus S' 1500mAh battery showed impressive signs of life in our short period of testing. In heavy use (though not tons of calling), we sustained about 20 hours of life before the phone was crying for its charger. We suspect that amount would be slightly lower if we'd spent a bit more time on calls, but it's still a solid showing considering the amount of downloading apps, screen testing, and general messing around we did with the device.

You'll certainly be able to make it through a day with the Nexus S, but if you're a heavy talker or plan on doing a lot of gaming, you may want to consider a second battery.

Software

The big story with the Nexus S isn't really about the hardware. While there are some notable upgrades and changes on the front, what the phone really represents is a gateway to the next stage of Android, version 2.3 -- otherwise known as Gingerbread. For those expecting a sea change in the OS, we'll tell you up front that you'll be disappointed. When we say evolution, we mean it. This is kind of the Snow Leopard of Android updates -- a lot of motion behind the scenes, but not a load of cosmetic and navigational changes. There isn't a ton here that's dramatically different than Froyo, but there are some notable additions that worth taking a deeper look at.

User interface

Coming from Froyo, you won't see massive changes to the look and feel of Gingerbread, but there are nice tweaks and some cleanup that shows Google is moving in the right direction. For starters, the status bar icons, window shade, dialer, and some applications (and their icons) have gotten a fresh coat of paint. By the looks of things, Google is moving away from the colorful, almost cartoonish look of previous OSs, and dipping into a more somber a sophisticated palette, mostly featuring shaded grays and blacks with green highlights. The company has made some thoughtful choices in terms of user experience as well -- if you're synced with a Google account, your status bar icons go from white to green, and instead of obscuring menus on the camera app, there's now a row of contextual items at your disposal while shooting.

Other little updates include a new orange burst of color which happens when you reach the end of a long list, and added transparency in menus, giving the OS a glassy feel. Additionally, the battery use and task manager have new views to graphically depict usage on the phone. Speaking of task managers, Google has now seen fit to add a proper menu option to the task manager right from the home screen menu. We're guessing the popularity of third-party killers was enough to convince the company that confronting the issue head on wasn't such a bad thing after all. It's a welcome addition here, and we found ourselves reaching for it fairly often (not due to performance issues... just because we're fastidious when it comes to application management).

Google has also updated some of its live wallpapers (which look nice, but we're not that fond of). We will say that this time around, whether it's the new OS or that Hummingbird CPU, we didn't see the kind of performance issues when running the wallpapers that we saw on the Nexus One. Still, we prefer to use the phone with static backdrops.

The biggest change you'll notice, however, comes in the form of the new keyboard. Not only has the company cleaned up and refined the look of the onscreen QWERTY, but it's added new functionality for word suggestions, copy, paste, and selection. Additionally, the keyboard finally exhibits more expected multitouch behavior, thanks in part to new threading that the company has added. Those changes allow you to do things like tap the punctuation key and then slide your finger to the character you want. We'd be gushing about what a great addition that is, except Google forgot one important thing -- when you lift your finger off of your selected character, the keyboard should then flip back to the ABCs. It does not. Instead, you're left stranded in the punctuation menu, meaning you've got to tap the toggle again to get back to your QWERTY. What kind of sense does that make? The whole point of being able to slide your finger to another character is to save clicks and time -- but having to click back out defeats the purpose. The intention is good, but the way Apple has it working on the iPhone is a much better, smoother method. Another gripe we have about the keyboard is that Google seems to have shrunk the height of the keys, making the keyboard on the Nexus S's 4-inch display feel cramped. We're not sure of this, but it definitely seems like the company has reduced the keys in size.

On a slightly brighter note, there are big improvements in word suggestion and selection, including new markers which you can use to grab selections of text. Well, let's be clear -- Google still has major issues with text selection and editing on Android devices. The first striking problem is that there is not a consistent method of selecting text on the device. None. At all. In the browser, you long press on text to bring up your anchors, then drag and tap the center of your selection -- boom, copied text. In text editing fields, however, in order to select a word you must long press on the word, wait for a contextual menu to pop up, and then select "select word" -- a completely counterintuitive process. In the message app you can long press to select only the entire message, and in Google Reader? You can't select any text at all. Even worse, Gmail has a different method for selecting text from an email you're reading, and it's far more obnoxious than any of the others. There, selecting text goes from being mildly annoying to downright silly. Want to grab some text out of an email? Here's your process: hit the menu key, hit "more," hit "select text," and then finally drag your anchors out. Funnily enough, a little cursor appears when you start selecting -- a holdover from Linux? To have this many options and discrepancies over something as simple as copy and paste should be embarrassing to Google. What it mostly is, however, is a pain to the end user.

And that's kind of the crux of our problem with Android in its current state. We don't question the power of the OS, but the fit, finish, and ease of use simply is still not there. There is something disconcerting about an operating system that changes its rules from app to app -- for a mobile interface to work well, it has to be approached holistically and organically. There is something cohesive in OSs like webOS and iOS -- a language that you can easily learn to speak and feel confident about using to get what you want -- that just seems to be missing here.

New apps

There aren't a ton of new pieces inside 2.3, but there are a few notable new additions to the app lineup. The first one is Tags, which is an NFC app which records all of the links you've gathered using the new tech in one easy to locate bag. You can star and delete these links much like Google Reader or Gmail. The second app which is notable is Downloads. This collects anything you've pulled down from the browser in one easy to reach spot. It certainly makes identifying where specific apps or files came from much easier, though it doesn't offer a ton of day-to-day utility.

Under the hood

Besides all the front-end stuff you can see, there's a lot that's less obvious happening in Gingerbread. Firstly, Google has added integrated support for VoIP / SIP calling, which means you can plug in your favorite service and access it through the native menus in the OS. This won't appeal to everyone, but there's definitely a certain segment of users that will be stoked to see this feature.

What really gets our juices flowing, however, is the fact that Google seems to be going full tilt on making Android a gaming platform. The company has enriched the OS with a handful of new APIs and dev tools which improve native code support and set the stage for faster, better looking games (and other graphics-heavy applications as well). It will be exciting to finally see developers taking advantage of the formidable hardware inside a lot of these devices. We don't know if the Nexus S is already utilizing some of these new tools, but as we said before, the OS seems blazingly fast and silky smooth when it comes to animations and transitions.

Wrap-up

It seems like every couple of weeks we're saying something along the lines of "x is the best Android smartphone on the market right now." We'd like to tell you differently when it comes to the Nexus S, but the truth is, it really is the best Android device available right now. Sure, we'd prefer it was on Verizon, and yes, there are some issues with the phone and OS that detract from the good bits... but there are also a lot of good bits. We'd been longing for a Galaxy S device that wasn't burdened by Samsung's sometimes-clunky TouchWiz, and in joining forces with Google, the company has more than delivered.

There's no shortage of great phones available right now, and there's no question that 2011 will usher in a flood of devices that make 2010's offerings seem forgettable. Like we said earlier, this isn't a perfect device, and in fact a lot of what's exciting about this phone is what's happening behind the scenes -- as if the stage is set for the arrival of Honeycomb and a slew of features. Still, when it comes to state of the art for Android right now, the buck stops here.

iPad Mini rumors surface again

2010-12-11T10:37:00.003+07:00

Just a few days after reports of iPad 2 rumors flooded the blogosphere, Reuters is stoking the fires with a story that says Apple is "preparing new iPads," as in plural. And one of those models, according to the usual anonymous supply chain sources, is "about half the size of the current tablet computer, and will include front- and back-mounted cameras" for Apple's FaceTime video-conferencing app.

Aside from the cameras, one source claimed the new iPad "would be slimmer, lighter, and have a better-resolution display than the first iPad."

Duh. None of that's new info--or particularly revealing (of course, the new iPad is going to be slimmer and have a better screen, right?). But it's interesting that we continue to hear chatter about Apple having a smaller iPad up its sleeve. Back in October, Steve Jobs famously scoffed at the notion of a 7-inch iPad, insisting the screen would be "too small to express the software." Since then, Barnes & Noble has released the $250 7-inch Nook Color and several other Android-powered 7-inch tablets have hit the market or will soon.

As part of its story, Reuters reporters quoted Steven Tseng, an analyst at RBS in Taipei, who said, "It makes sense for these suppliers to begin delivering their goods in February. I think Steve Jobs will announce the new product in January, and we should see the new product hitting shops in about April."

Yes, the iPad was announced on January 27, 2010, but when Jobs announced it there wasn't another iPad on the market to clear out of the channel. So, we're not sure why Jobs would unveil a new iPad--or perhaps iPads--a good two months before they were to go on sale. A few weeks maybe, but two months, probably not.

In any case, that's the latest iPad intel out of Asia. Just something to consider while you're standing in line at your local Apple Store buying an iPad this holiday season.

Bam! Kapow! Explodey New Thor Trailer Is Here!

2010-12-11T10:37:00.001+07:00

Get ready to duck!

The newest trailer for Thor is here, starring Chris Hemsworth as the Norse god and Natalie Portman as his lady friend, and stuff is seriously blowing up left and right!

They don't explain why, but...

We see Thor's father (Anthony Hopkins) strip him of his godlike powers and trusty hammer, and banish him to Earth. And from the sound of it, that's a pretty bad punishment. "Oh no, this is Earth, isn't it," he asks upon his arrival.

Fortunately, Portman is there to look after this strange new guy who literally fell out of the sky. And it can't all be bad. He may be stripped of his powers, but he hasn't lost his ability to beat up highly trained commandos...something we see him do a lot of.

Hopefully those abilities will come in handy when he takes on the giant robot blowing everything up with its death ray. (Yes, there's a giant robot that's blowing everything up with its death ray! They had those in Norse mythology, right?)

Check out the trailer and tell us what you think. Thor hits theaters May 6.

Taylor Momsen: A Promoter of Masturbation

2010-12-11T10:36:00.001+07:00

Don't look at us. She said it. And because Taylor Momsen is so edgy and cool, she can talk about masturbating a lot and it makes her awesome. Deal.

In an interview with The Guardian (UK), Taylor said unequivocally that “I’m a promoter of masturbation. Don’t sleep around ... learn yourself first!"

"Guys do, but girls don’t. And that’s why girls have so many bad experiences. But you can know your body, know yourself, know what feels good."

"You don’t have to give yourself away just to have sexual relevance," she adds.

"I don’t think sex is something people should be afraid of. It’s part of human nature. I don’t think it should be shameful, particularly for girls and young girls.”

The Pretty Reckless singer may look back on this and wish she'd shut her yap (that or she'll blame her parents like usual), but doesn't make a terrible point.

Hold out, don't put out, girls. There are alternatives that don't talk back.

Motorola's new logo: it's red

2010-12-11T10:35:00.001+07:00

Been wondering about what impact Motorola's January split into two distinct entities will have on your humble consumption of consumer electronics? Well, after attending Moto's big Christmas do in London, we seem to have uncovered one of the biggies: the Droid maker is switching to a crimson new brand identity from the start of the new year. They won't tell us much more than that, but we can only surmise that the slight chromatic deviation will be in an effort to distinguish between the Mobility arm, which will make all the pocketable things we know and love, and the Solutions group in charge of the less glamorous business hardware. We're sure there'll be some reshuffling of middle management and other structural reorganizations taking place, but we've got the big story right here: the stationery, it is a-changing.

Android dominates Verizon smartphone sales; BlackBerry tanks

2010-12-11T10:34:00.000+07:00

Investment research firm ITG has been investigating the sales figures from Verizon Wireless and it has come up with a pretty interesting find: the vast majority of smartphones sold by Verizon Wireless are Android handsets. That fact, while pertinent, is not all that shocking. What is shocking is this: in October of 2009, BlackBerrys accounted for 93% of Verizon Wireless’ smartphone sales. Just over one year later, in November of 2010, Android accounted for 80% of Verizon Wireless’ smartphone sales and BlackBerry’s share comes in at under 20%. How did Android go from not having a single handset in Verizon’s lineup in October of 2009 to sales domination eleven months later? You can credit Verizon’s fierce marketing blitz around the devices, consumer demand for more media centric devices with bigger screens, or RIM’s slow, measured approach with hardware. Whatever you want to credit or blame, those numbers are staggering and should not be ignored.

Robert Pattinson & Kristen Stewart Get Romantic in Louisiana

2010-12-11T02:45:00.003+07:00

Onscreen lovebirds Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart are making no secret of their real-life romance while shooting the latest Twilight installment.

The pair, along with the rest of the film's cast, are now filming Breaking Dawn in Baton Rouge, La., after a stop in Brazil, and have been seen getting cozy around the southern city.

Pattinson, 24 and Stewart, 20 recently joined about two dozen other cast members for a private dinner at Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar, but seemed to only have eyes for one another.

"Kristen and Rob were very couple-like," a restaurant source tells PEOPLE. "There was a lot of hand-holding, sitting next to each other. Everyone was talking around the room, but Kristen and Rob were just talking to each other, not really into the conversations everyone else was having."

At another outing to Cadillac Café, a strip-mall karaoke bar less than a mile from the studio where shooting is taking place, the two were spotted looking "very much a couple," says an onlooker.

"I mean, they weren't slobbering all over each other … but they sure looked like a couple and were talking with each other like a couple," the onlooker says. "They [seem like] a couple in love."

Miley Cyrus Caught Taking Bong Hits of Salvia: 'Is It Me Tripping?'

2010-12-11T02:45:00.001+07:00

It's been a year peppered with scandal for Miley Cyrus. She did a bit of underage drinking and, of course, there's been a near constant uproar over her provocative choices in stage attire. Now comes a fresh scandal, and this one involves a big old bong.

A video obtained by TMZ shows the 'Hannah Montana' star taking hits from a bong that was reportedly filled with a natural herb called salvia, which when smoked has psychedelic qualities. Possession of salvia is currently legal in California. The video was reportedly taken five days after Miley turned 18.

According to the report, the video was shot by one of Miley's friends and it is very possible that someone stole or copied the video from that person's camera.

The video begins with Cyrus taking a hit from the large bong as the song 'Comedown' by '90s rock band Bush plays in the background. After a few moments, she comes up for air and immediately begins to feel the effects of the drug. Soon, she's seeing things that aren't there, including her ex-boyfriend Liam Hemsworth.

"Oh, I'm not gonna lose it now ... I'm going," she says. "Having a little bit of a bad trip! Is that a f**king Liam lookalike or what the hell is that? Is that my boyfriend? Is that my boyfriend? Oh my God, he looks so much like Liam!"

She then points to her head and asks a friend, "Is it me tripping? Is it me tripping?"

It's then that Cyrus begins to laugh uncontrollably, before asking the camerawoman (who is egging the star to keep talking), "Oh my God, are you being as weird as I think you are right now?"

The video closes with a stream of incoherent babbling and grunting from Cyrus and her friend telling her that she is "going to s**t a brick when you see this."

Salvia is known to provide a brief-but-extreme hallucinatory experience when smoked. According to a news report from Current TV, "Its [salvia's] long-term effects are not well understood, but the immediate effects can be dramatic ... for five minutes, the highly-concentrated form of this drug can render people totally incapacitated."

"It is by far and away the most potent naturally-occurring hallucinogen," Dr. Brian Roth, head of a national drug screening program at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, told Current. "This drug targets this one receptor and when it hits that receptor it turns it on and then causes this profound alteration in how people view reality."

Miley had celebrated her eighteenth birthday a few days before the actual date (Nov. 23) at a private party where she was reportedly spotted with Nickelodeon star Avan Jogia.

In October, after 17 years of marriage, Miley's parents, Billy Ray and Tish Cyrus, filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences. Rumor was that singer Bret Michaels had an affair with Tish, but the rocker told PopEater he did not have an affair with Tish and he's not the reason Billy Ray and Tish are getting divorced.

iPad 2 dual-camera rumors refuse to die: “slimmer, lighter & better resolution”

2010-12-11T02:43:00.002+07:00

Apple’s second-generation iPad 2 will have both front and rear facing cameras, according to the latest leaks, with two of four sources at component makers talking to Reuters confirming that they believed their wares were headed for the refreshed iOS slate. In addition to the dual-cameras, the iPad 2 was tipped to be “slimmer, lighter and have a better resolution display”; Genius Electronic Optical Co Ltd and Largan Precision Co Ltd were tipped as having inked supply deals with Apple, though there’s no confirmation as to which device(s) their camera components will end up in.

The leaks follow a supposed iPad 2 case assembly which emerged yesterday, complete with an opening for a rear-mounted camera in the top corner of the tablet. Meanwhile previous rumors tipped Apple as using an LCD rather than AMOLED display, together with the possibility of a carbon-fiber chassis.

Although Apple is yet to publicly confirm either that it is working on a new iPad or when such a tablet might be expected to reach the market, that hasn’t stopped predictions of an April 2011 sales debut. Foxconn is believed to be readying production for mass shipments in January next year.

Jake Gyllenhaal, Taylor Swift Go for a Drive

2010-12-11T02:43:00.001+07:00

Get out of my dreams, get into my car!

Jake Gyllenhaal was in the driver's seat taking a spin through Beverly Hills on Thursday. His passenger: lady love Taylor Swift, naturally.

Swift, who turns 21 next week, was typing on her iPhone as her man, 29, cruised in his Audi Q7.

Gyllenhaal's back in the country after a jaunt to Australia, where he and Anne Hathaway were promoting Love and Other Drugs.

"Taylor is smitten. She loves how nice and affectionate he is," a source recently told Us Weekly of the couple, who've now been dating for about six weeks.

Motorola Android tablet specs and Honeycomb home screen leaked in Taiwan?

2010-12-11T02:42:00.000+07:00

Turns out Andy Rubin might not be the only fella who's been showing off the elusive Motorola Android tablet. Earlier this week, some lucky guy from Taiwan claims to have stumbled upon the same Honeycomb device, and was kind enough to share the above homescreen spy shot as well as some thoughts on his one-hour hands-on. We're told that there'll be a 7-inch version as well as a 10-inch version (the latter appears to be what Rubin had), and the one we're looking at here has a 1280 x 800 display of unknown size, NVIDIA Tegra 2 T20 dual-core chip, gyroscope, a 5 megapixel main camera, and a 2 megapixel front camera. Memory-wise it has a 32GB embedded MMC and a microSD slot.

The poster reckons the hardware -- which is "pretty light" -- is all ready for launch, but Honeycomb still needs some final fine-tuning. Sadly, he hasn't got a date, but said device will apparently be priced like the current Motorola high-end phones, and will be available in three flavors: UMTS, CDMA, and LTE (which we heard about a little while back). Well, only time will tell whether this guy really does have a good friend at Motorola, or that he's been talking to some unicorns.

Angry Birds: New payment system, 50 million users

2010-12-11T02:41:00.002+07:00

Angry Birds creator Rovio is ruffling its feathers and spreading its wings. At an event today touting the game's popularity, the company discussed an in-app payment system it will soon open up to all developers.

Dubbed Bad Piggy Bank, the service is designed to be a "one-touch payment" option for consumers who want to buy goods in-game. Rovio was quick to point out that no registration or credit card is required at the time of purchase. Instead, users will be billed on their monthly phone bill.

Rovio said its decision to launch Bad Piggy Bank is rooted in its desire to be a company that is "all about choice." It also said the functionality should appeal to developers who want to generate more cash from their respective programs.

It will take some time to get Bad Piggy Bank off the ground. Not only does Rovio need developer support, but the company must also ink deals with carriers to ensure that they can bill a user's mobile plan.

Rovio said it hopes to launch Bad Piggy Bank next year, but it wouldn't provide many details on the service, other than to say it will be available only to Android developers initially. Company spokesman Peter Vesterbacka also said the revenue-sharing agreement Rovio plans to offer will be "much, much better for developers than current app store models."

Angry Birds has been downloaded 50 million times across all platforms on which it's available, Rovio also revealed. Vesterbacka said he expects Angry Birds to have been downloaded 100 million downloads times by next summer. The game, he said, is currently being played a cumulative 200 million minutes per day around the world.

Going forward, Rovio reaffirmed that Angry Birds will be coming to PCs, Macs, and "every other console" next year. The company said the new versions will boast the same gameplay but offer "beautiful HD." Those hoping for something new, however, won't find it on the new platforms, as those versions are set to feature all of the same levels gamers have played on their smartphones. Updates for the game, however, are expected "every four weeks or so," with new levels added at no additional cost.

Rovio said the online and Facebook versions of Angry Birds will also be launching next year.

Microsoft said to be planning second Windows Phone 7 update for MWC in February

2010-12-11T02:41:00.001+07:00

Coming this February, at a Mobile World Congress near you, from the company that popularized the Service Pack: a second major update to Windows Phone 7. The observant among you will already be leaping out of their seats to point out that the first WP7 update hasn't even been delivered yet, but it seems like Microsoft's calendar stretches beyond the next month and the company's already churning away on enhancing and improving its rebooted mobile OS. Such is the scuttlebutt coming out of WinRumors, and it's kind of hard to argue with the postulation that Steve Ballmer wouldn't be keynoting MWC in 2011 without something significant to announce. Word is that users will be getting added customization options for their phones, while developers will gain an extra few API hooks and controls that will ideally lead to more sophisticated apps in WP7's future. Sounds good to us, now how about some landscape love, Microsoft?

See Marisa Miller Naked!

2010-12-11T02:40:00.003+07:00

Here's one more reason to be thankful it's Friday.

Model Marisa Miller takes it all off—save for a pair of sneakers—in Marc Jacob's new skin cancer awareness campaign, Protect the Skin You're In.

The image of the 32-year-old Victoria's Secret strutter will appear on T-shirts and will be available at Marc Jacobs boutiques, with all proceeds benefitting the NYU Cancer Institute.

Just in case you're looking for a stocking stuffer...

Microsoft Offer of $15 BILLION Rejected by Facebook

2010-12-11T02:40:00.001+07:00

Mind you, before you start thinking “but that’s not a lot of money, right?”, you’ve got to consider that this offer didn’t come in just yesterday. News of it, however, DID just come in TODAY via LeWeb over in Paris, where at “How to get acquired,” one of the many panels held at the conference, Microsoft’s Senior Director of Strategy and Acquisitions Fritz Lanman spoke in reply to a question host Loic Le Meur. The question was one concerning a rumor started in the book “The Facebook Effect” by David Kirkpatrick saying Microsoft tried several times. Turns out that’s true -at least part of it.

Replying to the rumor, Lanman noted “Yeah we tried to acquire Facebook. Facebook had a lot of similarities to Microsoft back in the day.” And went on to say that their original offer was somewhere around $15 billion around the year 2007. In the book The Facebook Effect, it’s written that Ballmer asked Mark Zuckerberg directly, “Why don’t we just buy you for $15 billion?” To which Zuckerberg replied, “I don’t want to sell the company unless I can keep control.”

The book continues by saying, “Ballmer took this reply as a sort of challenge. He went back to Microsoft’s headquarters and concocted a plan intended to acquire Facebook in stages over a period of years to enable Zuckerberg to keep calling the shots. But Zuckerberg rejected all the overtures.” Eventually Microsoft ended up agreeing on a $240 million small stake in the company, Facebook and they now working together in a search partnership.

Google Cr-48 laptop torn down and destroyed in one unlucky day (video)

2010-12-11T02:39:00.001+07:00

Boy, we know the Cr-48 is supposed to be a test platform and all, but even by that standard, Google's Chrome OS laptop has had a very rough first day on the job. Ambushed by one of our kindly tipsters upon its arrival, the Cr-48 has been gutted and disassembled (mostly, the motherboard is mercifully left attached to the chassis), revealing the typical arrangement of tiny electronics, which includes Hynix memory chips and a SanDisk-branded SSD. We're just glad to see that masking tape isn't playing a structurally integral role in its construction. Things don't really get much better for the slinky 48 once it gets back home to Google HQ, however, as its makers have put together an entire video composed of creative destruction methods for it. Cruel, cruel people.

HTC: 60 million handsets anticipated in 2011?

2010-12-11T02:38:00.000+07:00

Taiwan-based news outlet DigiTimes cited "industry sources" Friday in a report that claims cell phone manufacturer HTC will ship 60 million handsets in 2011, triple 2010's number. It's unclear as to whether this refers solely to smartphones or whether this also involves yet-to-be-released tablet devices.

As one of the biggest hardware manufacturers producing Android phones (from the successful Droid line to the discontinued Nexus One), this is a promising sign for the Google-built mobile operating system. HTC is also a big manufacturer of Windows Phone 7 devices, with the Surround on AT&T and the HD7 on T-Mobile.

No more information was provided in the DigiTimes rumor except that the sources in question floated the figure at a gathering of handset component suppliers in Taipei.

Can Jacko ever rest in peace? An album of 'new' songs he didn't want released hits the shelves and his family battle over his millions

2010-12-10T11:12:00.003+07:00

How ironic. In Breaking News, one of the songs included on Michael Jackson’s posthumous album, he sings about ‘Everybody wanting a piece of Michael Jackson’.

Because 18 months after his death, the fight over Jackson and his legacy continues.

Next week, Michael, an album of ‘new’ material from the singer, is released. Made up of just a few of the hundreds of songs Michael recorded and discarded before his death from an ill-fated combination of prescribed drugs, it is the first release from the £125 million ten-album deal Michael’s estate made with Sony Records in March.

But the fights have already started, with his family and friends saying the perfectionist singer would never have wanted the songs to be released because they aren’t of a high enough standard.

‘As an unfinished product, Michael Jackson did not want them recorded,’ Brian Oxman, the Jackson family lawyer told me this week.

‘Sony were continually asking him to release these unfinished songs and he always said he did not want them put out. It was a huge bone of contention, but they hounded him.’

Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am, who worked with the singer a few years ago, adds: ‘Whoever put [this album] out and is profiting out of it, I want to see how cold they are. Michael Jackson songs are finished when Michael says they’re finished. He was very particular.’

The singer’s former producer Quincy Jones says of the album: ‘He wouldn’t have wanted it to come out this way.’

Even more controversially, the singer’s family have claimed that some of the songs on the album do not even have Michael’s voice on them.

They say that five tracks donated by producer Eddie Cascio — who spent four months in the studio with Michael in 2007 — do not even sound like the singer. Cascio has already admitted that some of the backing vocals were provided by session singer James Porte to beef up the tracks.

‘Some of the songs are him, and some aren’t,’ Michael’s brother Randy wrote on Twitter. ‘I would bet my life on that.

‘All these people are more concerned about making money off his death. Sony were cutting deals with the estate before I could get my brother in the ground.’

Sony and the people behind Michael’s estate say they held a ‘listening party’ of the tracks with several producers who had worked with Michael as well as two musicologists, all of whom verified it was him.

Sony insists that it has ‘complete confidence’ that the lead vocals are all Michael, but the fuss has already led to some fans threatening to boycott the album. However, it is expected to be a No 1 hit all over the world. Because while the singer may have ended his life several hundred million pounds in debt, in death he has become pop’s biggest earner.

His estate is believed to have raked in more than £500 million in the past 18 months alone, including the contract with Sony (the biggest music deal in pop history), a wave of Jackson nostalgia prompting about £150 million in record sales and the footage of Michael rehearsing for his ill-fated London concerts being turned into the movie This Is It, with sales of £150 million.

Meanwhile, there has also been a video game (Michael Jackson: The Experience), plus a deal with Cirque Du Soleil to turn his music into a Las Vegas show.

But Michael’s family have barely seen a penny of that.

He left almost everything to his three children — Paris, 12, Prince Michael I, 13, and Blanket, eight — and ensured an estate was formed to make sure the money is there for them when they turn 18. But aside from his mother Katherine, Michael had not spoken to most of his family in years, convinced they were interested only in his money.

The estate is run by lawyer John Branca and record executive John McClain, both hired and fired by Michael several times over the years. The pair claim it could take years sorting through the labyrinth of his finances before they can release the money to Michael’s children and mother.

He was said to be at least £200 million in debt when he died, although his assets — his own back catalogue and a music publishing catalogue which features many of the Beatles hits — are worth more than that. However, there are hundreds of creditors demanding money.

The two Johns are said to be earning 10 per cent of the income of the estate for their hard work, so some have queried their motives for making deals in Michael’s name.

His mother, meanwhile, on behalf of Michael’s adored children, has had to resort to begging the estate for enough funds.

Initially awarded £30,000 a month (not that much when you consider the six bodyguards and two nannies), Katherine recently had to go before a judge to ask for more. ‘They have been rendered subservient to the estate,’ says a family friend.

‘Michael wanted his kids and his mother to have control of his money. The whole thing is a scandal.’

Despite not being named in Michael’s will, the rest of the family are already jostling for cash, says Diane Dimond, who wrote a biography of him.

‘The minute Michael Jackson died, the brothers were whispering in Katherine’s ear:

“You’ve got to get in there for the estate,” ’ she says. ‘All the brothers show up at Mama’s house for cheques, and she gives them to them.’

The Jacksons’ father Joseph, meanwhile — whom Michael detested for regularly beating his son — has attempted to get money out of the will but has been rebuffed several times by the judge. Joseph is now trying to sue his son’s doctor, Conrad Murray, for £250 million damages for his son’s ‘unlawful death’.

Katherine is the linchpin holding the family together, and reminding them that the estate is making more money than any of them could ever have dreamed of for the children. But she is 80 and in ill-health.

‘When Katherine Jackson dies there is going to be a fight over those kids like you have never seen in your life,’ says Diane. ‘Where the kids go, the money goes. [Michael’s siblings] Jermaine, Marlon and Randy will be fighting hardest for custody.’

At the centre of all the acrimony is the three young heirs.

Conscious that being a child star had led to his many problems, Michael was so desperate to keep them out of the limelight that they always had to wear masks in public.

With their new family, however, they took centre-stage at their father’s funeral and recently appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show where Paris talked about wanting to be an actress while Prince Michael I fancies directing. ‘It’s all about publicity with the Jacksons,’ says Diane. ‘I think they see it as whetting the public’s appetite for the children.’

Bringing out songs he consigned to the bin, showing intimate footage of his concert rehearsals, parading his children on television . . . you can’t help thinking that Michael won’t just be turning over in his grave at the way friends and family have acted since his death, he’ll be spinning.

The album, Michael, will be released next Tuesday.

Box office preview: 'Chronicles of Narnia' takes on Depp and Jolie in 'The Tourist'

2010-12-10T11:12:00.001+07:00

After last week’s deadly results, the box office will thankfully be injected with some fresh energy this weekend. For one thing, Narnia is happenin’. Fox is releasing The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the third film adapted from C.S. Lewis’ beloved series of fantasy novels. Aslan the Lion will be facing off against two of Hollywood’s biggest cash cows, Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie, in Sony’s romantic thriller The Tourist. The victor should easily be Narnia, but the real test will be whether the $140 million film can make enough in the long run to convince Fox and Walden Media to finance a fourth Narnia movie. My weekend predictions:

1. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: $40 million

Will 3-D and Narnia equal crazy delicious? (Okay, sorry, ending 5-year-old SNL reference now.) Disney abandoned the series after 2008′s The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian grossed “only” $141.6 million domestically (and $419.7 million worldwide). By comparison, the first entry, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe converted $291.7 million stateside, and $745 million worldwide. It’s hard to know whether the series, which Fox is now distributing, is trapped in a downward spiral or not. Or maybe all of the Narnia sequels will simply earn around the same amount as Prince Caspian. I’m opting for a slight spiral in which Dawn Treader debuts to $40 million. (Wardrobe tallied $65.6 million when it opened the same weekend in 2005, and Prince Caspian premiered to $55 million). The PG movie should then play well throughout the rest of the holiday season, especially as Fox continues to court Christian audiences.

2. The Tourist: $22 million

One would think pairing Johnny Depp with Angelina Jolie would automatically ignite box-office fireworks. But The Tourist isn’t tracking nearly as well as Dawn Treader, and the PG-13 Venetian thriller, a remake of the 2005 French film Anthony Zimmer, has so far received tepid reviews. Ultimately, the film will likely perform much better overseas, where Depp and Jolie’s names will be even bigger selling points, and where Oscar-winning director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (whose full name is Florian Maria Georg Christian Graf Henckel von Donnersmarck) is better-known. Here in America, expect an opening of about $22 million — modest, but nothing to sneeze at.

3. Tangled: $13 million

Dawn Treader will steal some of Tangled‘s family audience, as well as many of its 3-D screens. But, again, audiences truly love this animated musical’s happily-ever-after sheen, so a slide of about 40 percent seems about right. Tangled will cross the $100 million mark today and finish the weekend with about $114 million.

4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1: $9 million

Harry can only hold on for so long, and with the emergence of another fantasy epic in Dawn Treader, the PG-13 film will probably fall just under 50 percent this weekend. Deathly Hallows should hit $250 million domestically on Friday.

5. Burlesque: $3.5 million

Fifth place should be a rematch of last week’s battle for third place, where the Cher-Christina Aguilera musical Burlesque surprisingly beat out the Denzel Washington action thriller Unstoppable — by less than $200,000. I think Burlesque will barely trump Unstoppable once again. The former has been kicking around in third place throughout the workweek, while the latter’s been parked in fifth place.

In limited release, David O. Russell’s boxing drama, The Fighter, starring Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, enters the ring at four theaters in New York, Los Angeles, and Boston. And Julie Taymor’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest unfolds in five theaters.

Google Cr-48 Chrome laptop preview

2010-12-10T11:10:00.003+07:00

Well, would you look at what showed up on our frigid doorstep this morning? That's right, we are now the proud owners of Google's first Chrome OS laptop -- the Cr-48. Obviously, we ripped open the box and got right to handling the 12.1-inch, Atom-powered laptop. So, what does the thing feel like? How's that keyboard? And more importantly, how's Chrome OS looking? Stand by for our impressions, which we'll be adding in depth over the day. First impression: this thing is different.

Mega update: We blew this thing out! There's that video we already showed you, along with a way deeper dive into the hardware and the OS. It's all after the break, and you'd be a fool to miss it.

Second Gallery

Look and feel

The Cr-48 may look like just any other laptop, but we can tell you right off the bat that it feels considerably better than most of those plastic netbooks sitting on store shelves right now. The entire body (that means the lid, edges, and the underside) is made of a soft, rubber-like matte black plastic -- in fact, it feels a lot like the back of the Droid, though it feels a bit less rubbery. Overall, it looks a lot like the old black MacBook, including a magnetic latch with a split spot for getting your finger in and lifting the lid and a sunken screen hinge. We're obviously pretty taken with the hardware design look and feel, but the laptop itself isn't going to turn heads or win any beauty contests, and that was clearly intentional on Google's part -- remember this one isn't for consumers, but more for those less stylish developers and early adopters.

When we first picked up the 0.9-inch thick laptop we expected it to be a tad lighter -- according to Google it tips the scales at 3.6-pounds. If you ask us it just feels a bit too weighty for the size, however it's still easy enough to transport from the couch to the desk with one hand. On the flip side, we're impressed with its thin body and the fact that its battery fits flush with the bottom of the chassis. Yes, thankfully, there's no awkward battery hump like its closest competitor the Jolibook. Let us not forget about the ports: the left side is home to a VGA socket and the right side a USB port, 3.5mm headphone jack and an SD card slot.

Chrome is super limited on drivers right now, but we did mount an SD card and a USB flash drive -- there's just no dedicated, easy way to get to the file browser. Interestingly, earlier versions of Chrome OS have given a pop-up within the browser for surfing through an external drive, so we don't know why Google has excised that at the moment. The USB port did work for attaching a mouse, however.

The laptop doesn't get nearly as hot as some of the worst offenders we know, but while it started out very cool, it did warm up over time -- though so far we haven't managed to kick on the fan once.

Keyboard and touchpad

Surprise! Under the lid is that chiclet keyboard we showed you prior to the Cr-48's official birth. The keys, like the rest of the system, have a soft rubbery coating and feel pretty darn nice on the fingertips when typing. But as you can see from the picture above, the keyboard layout is probably the hardware aspect of the system that differs most from other netbooks out there. That's right, it's not your grandfather's keyboard, and Google made some real changes to the traditional layout -- it ditched the Caps Lock button for a search key, nixed the usual function control row and wiped out the Windows or Command button so there's now room for ultra-wide Ctrl and Alt buttons.

For the most part though, the changes didn't take much getting used to. There's an option to change the search key back to a Caps Lock, but we preferred keeping it as is since it automatically launches a new tab when pressed. And as you can imagine, the top row's back, forward and refresh keys were also incredibly convenient for the browser-based OS. We should also note that all of the typical Chrome keyboard shortcuts work out of the box, including Ctrl + the number of the tab, or Ctrl + D to bookmark a page.

We're not going to lie, we got pretty scared when we saw a ClickPad in place of a regular touchpad with real mouse buttons on the Cr-48 -- as you've probably heard, our experience with these hasn't been the best -- but the navigating experience isn't as bad as we expected. That doesn't mean it's perfect, but the plastic surface is responsive when navigating with a single finger or using two to scroll down the length of a webpage. However, things start to get shaky when you try and use the pad like a regular mouse button -- you know, with a thumb hovering on the left mouse button and an index finger on the pad itself. That setup causes either the cursor to mistakenly jump or not move at all. Our guess is that Google's using the older Synaptics ClickPad here, and as we've seen, future versions should help with those issues. We should also mention that there's no right click button, so to do so you have to tap two fingers on the pad itself.

Screen and speaker

The matte screen overwhelms us with gratitude. Thank you, Google. Thank you. Interestingly, it packs a 1280 x 800 resolution into its 12.1-inch dimensions, which is pretty high for that size. That means you can still get plenty of information on the screen, and we certainly didn't feel as cramped browsing as we traditionally do on sub-13.3-inch laptops. We did notice that the screen is a little dark, and while it's passable on viewing angles, you can really blow out the blacks further by viewing the screen at a lower than optimal angle.

We pumped a little bit of MOG and Pandora music through the speakers, and there was nothing offensive in the noise, it certainly wasn't spectacular. Think ThinkPad, not Dolby.

Performance and Chrome OS

With a tap of the power button the OS warms up, a graphical logo splash occupies the eye for a few seconds, the cursor comes alive, and then you're into the login screen in around 15 seconds. If you need to create a new user you just enter your Google account info (Google will allow different login forms, like OpenID, in the future), tap sign-in, snap a picture of yourself with the built-in webcam to use a profile shot, and "boom," you're into the OS. If you already have a profile stored, you need to type in a password every time you jump in, and it takes around 5 seconds to login.

While the boot is not what we'd call "instant" (although certainly very good), waking from the low-power standby mode is basically instant, certainly less than a second. Google claims you can stay in standby mode for around eight days, which seems pretty great to us. Clearly, we haven't had the time to test that just yet.

Once you're in the OS, you're in the browser, obviously. There's no minimize button up top, and the OS's best impression of an app launcher is the "new tab" button, which lists your apps, with "most visited" and "recently closed" sites below that. If you've seen Chrome, you've basically seen Chrome OS. Outside of tabs, there is a basic form of window management. If you hit Ctrl + N you get a new window, and you can toggle between your multiple windows with one of the action keys above the keyboard, sort of like virtual desktops.

There's a connections drop-down on the top right corner, which allows you to turn WiFi on and off, switch networks, or turn on your Verizon 3G. To the right of that is a simple battery life indicator, and, unfortunately, right now there's no way to control some power saving features, like the automatic screen timeout. You need an internet connection for the very first setup and login, but you can login to an existing user while the device is offline, and access anything that's cached or HTML5-stored on the device -- like some of those new Chrome Web Apps.

Our bookmarks and web apps carried over from desktop Chrome, but only after we remembered to set up sync on that copy of the browser -- it's on by default in Chrome OS, however. Even when we deleted our user on the Cr-48 and re-added it held onto everything just fine. The one exception to this symmetry was the small selection of default apps that Google has installed on the laptop, including EA's Poppit!, one of the most mundane Flash games we've ever come across. Those never get pushed to our other Chromes.

Even non-browsery things take place in the browser, like browser and system settings (the latter of which is laughably minimal, primarily concerned with setting the time zone). Google Talk is a pre-installed extension, and pops up a little dialogue from the bottom of your screen, which can be minimized into a small bar -- think of a purtified version of the separate GTalk chat "windows" in Gmail. A similar pop-up exists for downloads.

Wait, did we say downloads? Yes, we did. There is actually a filesystem, which we've seen two separate views for. When you upload a file on some random web app (like the excellent Pixlr Editor), you get a Linux-style file browser, with a full view of the file system, including the ugly OS-level stuff -- we doubt Google wants us to see this, in fact. However, if you upload a file from a blessed web app like Gmail, you get a very simplified file browser that shows any files you've downloaded and any screenshots you've taken. Ctrl + O opens that "file browser" up as the downloads pane, in case you want to rummage through screenshots you've taken or files you've downloaded without actually uploading them somewhere.

The other biggest difference between this version of Chrome and the desktop version that we noticed was that not all extensions can be installed, even ones that are listed with pretty new icons and meta data in the Chrome Web Store. Luckily our favorite was no trouble: FlashBlock.

And speaking of Flash... it seems to be this laptop's Achilles' heel. Even things as minor as Pandora seem to be putting a huge strain on the system, and cause everything else to slow down. When Google claimed Chrome OS ran the web "natively," it seems like it was ignoring the fact that Flash feels like emulation. Still, it's nice that it can run Flash. Is that hypocritical of us? The fact that Pandora or MOG can act as a music player on an OS that doesn't have a music player seems vitally important to the future of this OS.

Flash was the most painful when trying to deal with video. YouTube videos weren't perfectly smooth, but were at least passable at standard resolutions. Hulu videos, however, were unacceptably choppy. Also, the choppy, laggy, blurry video chat we attempted through Google Talk made us want to murder someone. It felt like we'd just wound back the clock and were using a hopelessly underpowered netbook, and we doubt that's how Google would like its shiny new OS to be perceived. Luckily, Adobe has already stated that it's on the case, and 10.1 (which means hardware acceleration) is in the works.

One feature that we didn't get to spend too much time with but could be pretty clutch is Cloud Print. Basically, you set up your copy of Chrome on a regular computer to recognize printers on that local machine, which then get shared via your Google account with any other Chrome browser you've logged into, like your fancy Chrome OS machine, which can then print to any printers associated with that host machine. It might not sound as fancy as Apple's AirPrint, but it's probably going to be a lot more useful in the short term.

Google already went over this, but in case you missed it: multiple users is a breeze. Not only is it easy to set up a new user and sign in and out (though you have to enter your password every time it seems -- we didn't see a way to make one user a default), but the guest user spawns an "incognito" browsing mode, that not only stops the guest from accessing any of your info, but also covers the browsing tracks completely of the guest user. We figure the Googlers responsible for Chrome OS have some pretty shady friends, so we can't blame them for taking precautions.

Now, we've given our thoughts on a lot of this OS because we like you guys, but at the end of the day it's beta software running on non-commercial hardware, and that's why this is a preview, not a review -- none of this is final. Google has made it clear that it has plans to make a lot of improvements to the OS before it launches, and it certainly needs it. We encountered plenty of bugs and slowdowns, to be sure. On occasion when we went to sign out we ended up losing our session, as if it had "crashed" -- though thankfully a "restore" dialogue came to our rescue each time. Some extensions that worked for us initially stopped working later on, and some sites would perform really well one moment and really sluggishly the next. Interestingly, Google touted the OS as immune to the sort of slowdowns you get over weeks and months with a desktop OS like Windows, but we noticed slowdowns over a matter of minutes and hours. Hopefully these kinks can be ironed out, but we also wouldn't mind if third party manufacturers use some more powerful hardware than what Google's cobbled together.

Verizon connectivity and battery life

As promised, this was pretty much a snap to set up. All Chrome OS laptops are getting 100MB a month of free data from Verizon for the first two years of their laptop, but if you want more data than that there are a variety of pay options. Ten dollars gets you unlimited data for a day, and there's a meter on the tab that reveals how much data you have left. Pretty helpful, Google.

Google promises eight hours of battery life. Our units came with a halfway charged cell, which means we'll be updating this portion of the preview when we get this thing filled up with juice and can use it out and about. Right now at least one of our units seems about on pace for Google's estimate.

Wrap-up

This is a tough one to sum up. It's not a "real" product, in the sense that you can't buy it. Still, it represents the infancy of a series of products that will be very real and probably pretty well priced. We can already see some reasons why particularly browser-bound folks might consider this over a netbook, but for most people we'd say Google has a long ways to go to create a true netbook or laptop alternative -- besides, how many secondary and tertiary devices does one person really need? While the OS is pretty much all that matters here right now, and the internals are nothing special, our favorite part of the Cr-48 probably happens to be the one true inessential element: the design. We wish more computer manufacturers would take a note out of this understated book.

[Via Engadget]

So Who's Bigger: Angelina Jolie or Johnny Depp?

2010-12-10T11:10:00.001+07:00

Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie star in The Tourist together, but who's the bigger star and who can open a movie better?

Sure, let's start another celebrity rivalry. They're fun, and they keep sites like mine in business. Also, I did some digging, and took a look at the numbers, and—whoa.

I sure did not expect this:

Jolie may own the tabloids. Depp may have bigger box office deliveries—and he does. But according to people who actually quantify the fame of stars, Depp and Jolie are neck and neck.

"They're both at the zenith of their fame and fandom," says Tom Meyer, president for entertainment for The Marketing Arm, which runs the celebrity DBI, or Davie Brown Index.

The DBI measures a star's fame and appeal based on eight criteria, including public awareness and the star's influence.

Depp has an awareness score of around 98, Jolie 96.

OK, and Depp has an influence score of about 74. Jolie's is around 76.

But once we start drilling down a little deeper, the numbers start to diverge. And what we realize is this:

Jolie is more recognizable as a star.

"She's is in the spotlight considerably more than Depp is," Meyer says. "He is only out there when he is promoting his movies."

But Depp is more widely loved. That's according both to the DBI and the people behind the Q Scores, another star measurement system.

"A lot of Depp's advantage is that he appeals to kids, teens and adults," says Henry Schafer, Executive Vice President of Marketing Evaluations, Inc., which handles the Q Scores. "He cuts across more demographics."

Of course Depp cuts across more demographics. He has a pirate sword, after all.

PlayStation Phone 'Zeus Z1' prototype benchmarked on video

2010-12-10T11:09:00.000+07:00

We can't get enough of Sony Ericsson's PlayStation Phone (also known as Zeus Z1), and we're guessing neither can you. We were just sent a new video of the device in action, only now it's running Qualcomm's Neocore benchmark app. As you can see, the device managed 24.4 frames per second on average. That doesn't seem like much -- our Nexus S, for example, just pulled off 55.6fps -- but bear in mind, this isn't the final software (or hardware probably), so there's no conclusions at all to draw from this benchmark right now. Just think of it as another nice view of the phone as we inch closer to a finish line we still can't make out over the horizon. Sorry, no slide-out gamepad, but you saw that last week -- don't be greedy. Video after the break.

Shocker! Jaylor Might Be the Next Robsten

2010-12-10T11:08:00.002+07:00

We've bitched tons how we've been on caffeine overload just from reading about Taylor Swift and Jake Gyllenhaal's gazillion coffee dates. And now friends of the couple known as Jaylor are coming forward and telling us to, uh, reconsider.

Here's what's being said:

"She's not 21 yet, what else are they supposed to do?" sasses a source close to Jake.

Adds another insider when we pressed what we can expect from the couple after Swift's birthday next week:

"Well, what Taylor's really looking forward to about turning 21 is being able to go to clubs and see bands she's never been able to see before."

Jake will be in attendance as well, natch.

"She's really looking forward to that," assures Deep Jaylor. "She hasn't liked that she hasn't been able to do that before."

Somehow we think her version of clubbing may be different than that of, oh say, Miley Cyrus.

Doesn't this slightly sound like another couple we know? Robsten, perhaps?

Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson frequent the music scene together, especially in L.A. It's pretty much a perfect date night around Hollywood parts.

Guess their choice in bands are more 18-and-over appropriate, since K.Stew isn't 21 yet, either, and she still goes to certain venues.

Then again, we highly doubt Stewart and Swift have the same taste in tunes.

Still, the fact that Jaylor is a couple with a dating plan makes us a bit less cynical.

Oh yeah, the kicker from Deep Jaylor:

"And what's the big deal if they just really like coffee?"

Uh, we're done on that subject. We'll leave it to the rest of you jaded types to weigh in here.

Video game industry posts record November sales

2010-12-10T11:08:00.001+07:00

The video game industry posted its best-ever November sales on the strength of Microsoft's Kinect motion controller and games like Call of Duty: Black Ops.

That was the report from industry analyst, The NPD Group, which puts out monthly tallies for total video game software and hardware sales. According to NPD analyst Anita Frazier, the video game business was good for $2.99 billion in November, up 8 percent from $2.76 billion a year earlier, and about $30 million more than the previous record November in 2008.

According to Frazier, every category of the business was up for the month except portable hardware and software. And Microsoft's Xbox 360--likely on the strength of its brand-new Kinect, saw a sales boost of 68 percent from a year earlier. Microsoft said that it sold 2.5 million Kinects in just 25 days, and 1.37 million Xboxes.

In its own release, Microsoft touted its sixth-straight monthly win in the head-to-head-to-head battle for console supremacy between its Xbox, Sony's PlayStation 3, and Nintendo's Wii. In addition, Microsoft's cited NPD's numbers in saying that four of the top-10 titles at retail for the month were for the Xbox platform: Call of Duty: Black Ops, Fable III, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, and Halo: Reach. All told, NPD said, 40 percent of all video game dollars spent in November were spent on Xbox 360 games, hardware, or accessories.

For its part, Nintendo said it sold 1.2 million Wiis, as well as 1.5 million Nintendo DS units.

As of this writing, Sony had not issued a release touting its sales for the month.

On the software side, Call of Duty: Black Ops quickly raced to 8.7 million units sold, becoming in less than a month, the 7th-best selling game of all time.

Pirates of the Caribbean 4: First Looks!

2010-12-10T11:07:00.004+07:00

Captain Jack is (almost) back.

On May 20, Johnny Depp will reprise the role that truly made him an icon, as he steps back into the swashbuckling shoes of Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. We've got an early look at a scene from the movie here:

The fourth installment of this franchise will find Jack and Barbossa seeking the Fountain of Youth. Along the way, Depp's beloved character will meet a former flame, as seen above and played by Penelope Cruz.

"What's most interesting about Pirates 4 is you don't have to connect the dots for these subplots and sub-characters," Depp told USA Today. "It felt like a fresh, clean slate."

Justin Bieber & Selena Gomez: Holding Hands in IHOP!!!

2010-12-10T11:07:00.003+07:00

It stands for the International House of Pancakes, but for one morning this week, IHOP might as well have been an acronym for It's Happening, Omg, People!!!

We're referring, of course, to the breakfast date on which witnesses spied Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez. The two were seen dining and holding hands at an establishment in Philadelphia, hours before they performed at the Q102 Jingle Ball.

TMZ has the photographic evidence:

Justin and Selena sat on the same side of the booth, onlookers reported, and appeared "cuddly."

Of course, Bieber took the stage later that evening and serenaded a fan in a romantic manner. So who knows where things stand between him and Gomez. We'll keep you apprised.

What Is This Weird Opening On These iPad 2 Cases?

2010-12-10T11:07:00.001+07:00

This is supposed to be an iPad 2 case, now for sale in bulk by a Chinese case manufacturer. Surprisingly, the design's top right opening is consistent with the rear-facing camera rumor. But what's that hole on the lower corner? Updated.

That's where the speakers are now, but it seems way to big for them. It has to be something else. Kodawarisan says that it is for the rumored SD camera card slot, but it's way too big for that too. In any case, I'm very curious now.

The $2-$4 cases are only available for bulk sale from a Chinese company, with a minimum 1,000-unit order.

Historically, Chinese manufacturers always get a jumpstart when it comes to make skins and cases for future Apple iOS devices. My guess is that they get the physical specs early from the low level operators at the factories that make Apple goods from unicorn ponies and babies. With a rumored February 2011 and a likely April 2011 launch, the iPad 2 specs are most probably already loaded and ready to go.

Woz Bought a White iPhone 4 From That Ballsy Chinese Teen

2010-12-10T11:06:00.000+07:00

Our favorite Steve Wozniak, Apple co-founder, has a white iPhone 4. Surprisingly, he didn't use his Apple connections to get one though. CNN says Woz got it from that ballsy Chinese teen who sold white iPhones.

In an interview at the Computer History Museum in Silicon Valley, Woz flashed the white iPhone 4, stunning the reporter who was interviewing him. They assumed he used his longstanding relationship with Apple to land one (they've been seen on Apple's campus before). But that's not our Woz!

His white iPhone 4 is actually a modified black version using authentic parts sold by that teen. According to CNN:

CNN touched base with him after Apple-news blog 9to5 Mac reported that a reader e-mailed Wozniak about this post, and that Woz suggested the phone might be modified with a kit a Chinese teenager was selling before being shut down by Apple.

Wozniak said something similar Wednesday to CNN. "I saw a post and got in quick and ordered my set of parts," he wrote.

Hopefully, you were as keen as Woz if you wanted the white iPhone 4 too.

[9to5Mac via CNN]

Chelsea Handler Calls Jennifer Aniston "Irreverent," Continues to Bash Angelina Jolie

2010-12-10T02:30:00.001+07:00

Just days after ripping Angelina Jolie a new one, Chelsea Handler reveals that her beach buddy Jennifer Aniston can also be pretty edgy.

(Yeah, but does she use the "C word"?)

"Jennifer Aniston makes me laugh," the Chelsea Lately star tells Katie Couric in the new issue of Glamour. "She's irreverent and hilarious, and she sends me really, really funny e-mails."

Of course, the mere mention of Aniston naturally leads to the inevitable follow-up discussion about you-know-who.

"Yeah, I'm not a fan," Handler, not surprisingly, says about Jolie when Couric brings up the comedian's recent rant. "She just doesn't come off to me as a sincere woman. She seems like a woman that you'd really want to avoid."

Well, since it's pretty safe to say Jolie won't be calling up Handler for a day at the spa anytime soon, we're guessing that won't be a problem.

Howard Stern on New Sirius Deal: "Ballpark $1 Billion"?!

2010-12-10T02:29:00.000+07:00

Looks like David Arquette's favorite therapist is sticking around for a while.

Howard Stern revealed this morning on his show that he has signed on for another five years at Sirius XM radio, following down-to-the-wire negotiations with the satellite radio juggernaut.

"I'm thrilled about it, I believe Sirius is the future," the shock jock exclusively tells E! News. "I'm raring to go."

So what's the new deal entail?

Well, as of now, all his staff will be returning, and they will all likely have less working hours. Staffers will be negotiating their own contracts separately in the coming weeks.

"I hope everyone continues for the next five years," Stern says of his beloved crew of writers and Wack Packers.

And exactly how huge will his paycheck be?

"I don't discuss my salary, but I can tell you it's ballpark $100 billion," he jokes. "My contract is very fair, I'm very pleased."

Most importantly, he says, his hot wife, Beth Ostrosky-Stern, is relieved he won't be bugging her at home every day, all day.

"Beth has the best Christmas coming her way this year—the gift of time with me. There's nothing more precious than my time."

And then she'll get another bonus: "I'm fully aroused with my new contract," he laughed.

Stern wouldn't go into more detail about the terms of the new contract, but did say it allows him more "flexibility"—hinting that future shows could possibly be fewer hours, or only run live three days a week rather than the current four.

"The contract allows for me for a new flexible schedule," Stern says. "I'll have more flexibility. But I'll get into that in the future."

Stern's own father, Ben, called in today, saying he honestly didn't know what Howard has chosen to do, but was happy with his son's decision. "I had a feeling deep down," Ben said.

"Not only am I happy here, everyone's happy here, we continue to grow," Howard told his dad, adding a sweet, "I love you pop."

Stern, whose current five-year, $500 million contract was due to expire at the end of the month, says his new deal is the first one he's ever actually sat down and read himself.

"I was busy yesterday running around signing up, it's the first time I ever sat and actually read one of my contracts. All of a sudden I'm a lawyer," he cracks.

But you better enjoy Howard while you can. He tells us, "I can say with almost certainty that this is my final five years on radio."

'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' trailer: One giant leap for robokind

2010-12-10T02:25:00.002+07:00

The new trailer for Transformers: Dark of the Moon is here, and it’s genetically engineered to be a summer blockbuster, now with even more robots and patriotism.

“You cannot believe what we’re seeing,” says Shmiel Shmarmstrong, and he’s right. I cannot believe that the dust on the moon looks like it’s moving due to earth-like gravity! I’m going to go crawl in my nerdhole and hibernate now.

Teasing aside, holy moly, it’s like Michael Bay knows we all want to see an explosion on the freaking moon. I mean … you do, right?

Katy Perry earns third No. 1 single of 2010 on Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with 'Firework'

2010-12-10T02:25:00.001+07:00

Katy Perry’s latest single, “Firework,” is this week’s No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, moving up one spot. Following her summer anthem “California Gurls” and “Teenage Dream,” this is her third No. 1 single from her Teenage Dream album. Last week‘s chart-topper, Pink’s “Raise Your Glass,” swaps places with Perry. Meanwhile, Rihanna’s “What’s My Name?” moves back into the top three, hopping up two place to No. 3. Check out the full top 10 below.

Dec. 9, 2010′s Billboard Hot 100 singles top 10

No. 1 – Katy Perry, “Firework”

No. 2 – Pink, “Raise Your Glass”

No. 3 – Rihanna, “What’s My Name?”

No. 4 – The Black Eyed Peas, “The Time (Dirty Bit)”

No. 5 – Bruno Mars, “Grenade”

No. 6 – Rihanna, “Only Girl (In the World)”

No. 7 – Bruno Mars, “Just the Way You Are”

No. 8 – Ke$ha, “We R Who We R”

No. 9 – Nelly, “Just a Dream”

No. 10 – Trey Songz, “Bottoms Up”

Samsung undecided about Gingerbread on Galaxy S, Google says hardware needs 'similar' to Froyo

2010-12-10T02:23:00.000+07:00

If the Nexus S is basically a Galaxy S in Gingerbread disguise, you'd think Samsung would be bursting at the seams to offer a software upgrade for all the phones it's already sold from that family. Okay, you really wouldn't, but you'd hope that would be the case, right? Well, Pocket-lint prodded Samsung on just that point and managed to finagle the following response from a local UK contact presumably speaking on behalf of the mothership:
"In case a new version of Android operating system is publicly announced and released, Samsung will review the possibility of implementation of such new version to the existing Samsung products with Android operating system ("Update").

Such a review will be based on various factors including, without limitation, the overall effect of such Update to Samsung products, the system requirements, the structural limitations, and the level of cooperation from the component suppliers and the software licensors".
Right, so the Gingerbread launch and that whole new handset that's coming in a week's time, not public enough? And what's "the overall effect" of a Gingerbread update beyond a group of very happy users? Samsung seems to be matching its country-mate LG in taking an evaluative approach to Gingerbread, though Google's own Android lead developer is pretty definitive about the software, saying that "Gingerbread hardware needs are similar to Froyo." So if your handset can run version F, it should have no trouble handling version G... no trouble other than its own maker.

Update: And now, in typical Samsung fashion, we're getting mixed messages as its Indian mobile arm has come out and confirmed that "Gingerbread will be available to Galaxy S users.

Watch 'Hold My Hand,' Michael Jackson's First Posthumous Video

2010-12-10T02:18:00.000+07:00

"This life don't last forever ... So tell me what we're waiting for ... Hold my hand." An eery and prescient first line sung by Michael Jackson kicks off 'Hold My Hand,' the late singer's first single and just-released video from the much-anticipated 'Michael' album. In the crisply shot video, images of Jackson performing accompany a heavy dose of Akon, his duet partner for the uplifting track. Keeping in line with many of MJ's past videos, 'Hold My Hand' prominently features children playing and smiling.

To a casual listener, the song itself could be mistaken for an Akon release -- he handles many of the vocal flourishes in both the verses and chorus -- yet Jackson is always there and their two drastically different instruments compliment each other well.

'Hold My Hand' is the first single release from the 10-song CD, 'Michael,' which hits stores Dec. 14.

Windows Phone 7 devices are being discounted by third parties, but it's business as usual

2010-12-10T02:17:00.002+07:00

We're seeing reports pop up that discounting -- some of it heavy -- off the full retail prices of Windows Phone 7 handsets by third-party retailers this early in the game could be a sign of trouble for Microsoft, but realistically, you can't use that yardstick for guesstimating how well a phone (or a platform, in this case) is doing. Guys like Amazon, Wirefly, Simplexity (which runs a number of mobile stores, including Walmart), and Best Buy Mobile regularly undercut carriers' first-party pricing on handsets immediately following release -- or shortly thereafter -- because it's effectively a win-win: they're given multi-hundred-dollar commissions for each new contract they bring to the network, giving them the wiggle room to apply some of that cash to the sticker price. The retailers win because they're earning sales by offering phones for less than the carriers, and the carriers still win because they're pushing on-contract units either way -- and that means they've captured another long-term revenue stream, which is where the real money's at. Popular Android devices like the Epic 4G and the Vibrant (among countless others) were handled the same way in the retail channel as these Windows Phone 7 devices are being handled.

Of course, that's not to say we know Windows Phone 7 is selling well -- Microsoft's Joe Belfiore dodged questions about numbers this week at D: Dive into Mobile, which seems shady at best for a platform that's now been on the market for a solid month. We are saying, though, that you can't use third-party discounting to steer the conversation either way. Call us when AT&T or T-Mobile starts blowing out Quantums and HD7s for a penny directly when they're not tied up in some sort of holiday BOGO promotion, because that's when you have to worry.

Lagy Gaga, Ke$ha, Susan Boyle top 'Billboard' 2010 year-end lists

2010-12-10T02:17:00.001+07:00

We all went gaga for Gaga this year, says Billboard, declaring Lady Gaga the 2010 Artist of the Year.

The Lady Gaga you see here is a wax figure unveiled at Madame Tussaud's Berlin today. Seven other figures of Lady Gaga are unveiled at the same time in London, Amsterdam, New York, Hollywood, Las Vegas, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Gaga was given the Billboard honor in part because of the chart performance of her first two albums, The Fame and The Fame Monster. She is followed by Taylor Swift, Eminem and Lady Antebellum.

The No. 1 song of the year? Tik Tok by Ke$ha. Following her on the list are: Airplanes by B.o.B, Lady Gaga's Bad Romance, Taio Cruz's Dynamite and Katy Perry's California Gurls.

The No. 1 album of the year was Susan Boyle's debut, I Dreamed a Dream. SuBo was followed by Eminem's Recovery, Lady Antebellum's Need You Now, Lady Gaga's The Fame and Justin Bieber's My World 2.0.

Did Billboard get it right?

Beyonce Gives Jay-Z the World's Most Expensive Car

2010-12-10T02:16:00.001+07:00

Beyonce Knowles showed just how much she loves her husband Jay-Z by reportedly presenting him with a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport, on his birthday. The rap mogul turned 41 on Dec. 4 and to celebrate, The Sun reports his better half bought him one of the world's fastest and most expensive production cars ever built.

The Veyron Grand Sport is powered by a 16.4-liter engine that produces 1,000 horsepower with a top speed of 253 mph and a 0-60 mph time of just 2.7 seconds. And the price for all that speed and power: a cool $2 million.

Beyonce can certainly afford it. According to Forbes, she made $87 million this year. Jay-Z is no slouch in the earnings department either, he has a business empire and a fortune estimated at $450 million.

The Veyron will add to Jay-Z's impressive car collection which according to The Sun includes a Maybach 62S, Ferrari F430 Spider and a Pagani Zonda Roadster.

Next on the list for the couple could be a baby. Beyonce pregnancy rumors are an almost daily occurrence and last month her mom Tina Knowles shot down any baby speculation, but did say she can't wait to be a grandmother and she believes they would make "great parents."

Amazon Could Be the Next Site Brought Down by Wikileaks' Supporters

2010-12-10T02:15:00.000+07:00

Wikileaks' powerful allies have declared war against Amazon.com, after already ticking PayPal, Visa and Mastercard off their lists this week. Given Wikileaks was booted from Amazon's servers last week, it's not surprising the site has been thrown in the stocks.

The @Op_Payback Twitter account tweeted just an hour ago "TARGET: WWW.AMAZON.COM LOCKED ON!!" and while Amazon.com is still up and working, it's only a matter of time until it's brought to its knees just like Mastercard's corporate site and PayPal were this week, after the DDoS attacks.

Prior to declaring war against Amazon, the account tweeted about Amazon selling a Kindle version of the cables, released by Wikileaks. There is, however, some contention over the authenticity of the Twitter account belonging to "Anonymous," the anonymous group of Wikileaks supporters.

PayPal, Mastercard and Visa were all targeted by the group for refusing to allow donations to Wikileaks, however PayPal blogged yesterday that they'd just transferred the last amount of funds to Wikileaks' account. They're not going to reinstate the ability to donate to the cause, however.

Julian Assange, Wikileaks' editor in chief, is in police custody in Britain after turning himself in on Tuesday due to charges related to "rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion." That's not why PayPal, Mastercard and Visa cut off access to Wikileaks, though. It's due to the US Department of State publishing a letter claiming Wikileaks is in posession of documents that were obtained in violation of the US law—referring, of course, to the US solider Bradley Manning, who downloaded the 250,000-odd cables from the US network and sent them to Wikileaks. PayPal denies this, of course, claiming instead they "restricted the account based on our Acceptable Use Policy review." [Twitter via All Things D and Business Insider]

UPDATE: Wikileaks has published a statement on its website, distancing itself from the DDoS attacks of its supporters:

"These denial of service attacks are believed to have originated from an internet gathering known as Anonymous. This group is not affiliated with Wikileaks. There has been no contact between any Wikileaks staffer and anyone at Anonymous. Wikileaks has not received any prior notice of any of Anonymous' actions.

Wikileaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson said: "We neither condemn nor applaud these attacks. We believe they are a reflection of public opinion on the actions of the targets.""

Notion Ink Adam pre-orders shipping around January 6 2011

2010-12-10T02:14:00.000+07:00

With only hours to go until pre-ordering for Notion Ink’s Adam tablet goes live, the big question has been when customers can expect their Android slate to be delivered. We’ve been talking to CEO Rohan Shravan, who has confirmed that the first batch of pre-ordered Adams will be going out around the same time as CES 2011.

That’s January 6th to 9th 2011, if you don’t have the CES details firmly ingrained on your memory. Not quite the pre-Christmas shipping we were hoping for, but as long as Notion Ink stick to schedule there should be some belated present opening at the start of next year.

The entry-level LCD WiFi Adam is $375.33 (rather than $399) while adding 3G takes it to $425.33. As for the Pixel Qi model, that will start at $499.95 for the WiFi-only version and climb to $549.99 for the 3G version. Two versions of 3G modem will be available – one for the US, the other for Europe/Asia.

Jennifer Lopez looks ready for business as she arrives for American Idol

2010-12-09T16:33:00.006+07:00

She's there to judge the singing talents of fans eager to follow in her footsteps. But any American Idol hopefuls expecting an easy ride from Jennifer Lopez look set to be disappointed. The singer turned up for auditions yesterday looking ready for business, in an outfit seemingly inspired by a no-nonsense secretary.

Adding to the the look she had a matching stern expression. Jennifer, who is making her debut as a judge this season, wore a flounced grey jacket and black high heeled shoes, teamed with a clutch bag. Luckily Jennifer, whose fellow judges Randy Jackson and Steven Tyler were also spotted at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Los Angeles, was a lot softer in person.

'It takes a lot of guts to come out here and do this,' the 41-year-old tells hopefuls in a newly-released promotional video.

'We know this. We've been in your position. We understand how you feel. Have fun and believe in your destiny. Just do your thing, okay?'

The mother-of-twins is also seen telling a contestant whose knees are shaking: 'I liked you. There's no reason for you to be shaking. We want you to be great.'

Lindsay Lohan and 'Dancing With the Stars': Is It Going to Happen?

2010-12-09T16:33:00.005+07:00

To waltz or not to waltz... According to RadarOnline.com, Lindsay Lohan is currently in secret talks with 'Dancing With the Stars' to join next season's cast.

"Lindsay has been talking with the DWTS people," a source close to the actress exclusively told RadarOnline.com. "She is definitely interested and considering being on the show."

The website reports the 'Mean Girls' actress is still in treatment and her team at Betty Ford fully supports the idea.

"Lindsay's treatment team thinks 'Dancing With the Stars' would be a perfect transition back to work for her. She would have a set schedule everyday, would be occupied and would be very productive. Lindsay wanted their approval before proceeding in talks with the producers and she got it," said the source.

The producers of the dance competition show have wanted Lohan to star for a while. "'Dancing with the Stars' producers have had Lindsay on their wish list of cast mates for a very long time," a source told RadarOnline.com.

But GossipCop.com is reporting Lohan isn't anywhere near starring on the show. In fact, her rep told the website, "Lindsay Lohan is not doing 'Dancing with the Stars.' The story is false."

Only time will tell whether or not we'll see Lohan dancing around the PR-friendly stage in a sparkly, sequined dress!

Andy Rubin: over 300,000 Android phones activated daily

2010-12-09T16:33:00.003+07:00

Cast your mind back to the ancient time that was this August and you'll recall Eric Schmidt telling you, with no lack of pride, that 200,000 Android phones were being sold each and every day. Skip past Steve Jobs' snide remarks about what's included in that tally, and fast-forward to today, where Andy Rubin is blowing minds with the latest, very nicely rounded, total: 300,000 daily activations. Yes, in spite of being the most fragmented thing this side of our 10-year old hard drives, the Android OS just keeps growing at an exponential rate. So Steve, any comment on today's data? Were they counting it wrong?

Jessica Biel joins the cast of 'New Year's Eve'

2010-12-09T16:33:00.001+07:00

Actress Jessica Biel is joining the all-star cast of the ensemble romantic comedy New Year’s Eve, a source tells EW.The power-packed lineup of actors on board the follow-up to this year’s Valentine’s Day also includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Ashton Kutcher, Robert De Niro, Lea Michele, Hilary Swank, and Michelle Pfeifer. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Modern Family star Sofia Vergara is also in negotiations to join the cast. The movie follows the romantic ups and downs of a group of New Yorkers over the course of a single New Year’s Eve. Biel also appeared in Valentine’s Day but, since New Year’s Eve is not a sequel to that film, she will be playing a new character in an entirely different storyline. The film begins shooting later this month in New York.

Call me Mrs Brand! Katy Perry reveals she wants to take her new husband's name

2010-12-09T09:01:00.000+07:00

Most celebrities choose to keep their own names for professional reasons after getting married.

But Ms Katy Perry has revealed that she hasn't, deciding instead to become Mrs Katy Brand.

The Firework songstress chatted to Ellen DeGeneres on her daytime chat show Wednesday about how she has already begun the process to legally take her new husband's name.

When asked if she already gets called Mrs Brand she admits: 'I do actually!'

'Sometimes when people try to get my attention, like at an event or something and they want special attention.'

Ellen then questioned her about whether her husband, British comedian Russell Brand, is a bit of a handful.

'Yeah, but handfuls are also a lot of fun,' she quips.

'There is never a dull moment. A sense of humour is really important in our household. That's how we de-stress and we like to have a laugh.'

Along with appearing on Ellen, Katy also graces the cover of January's Maxim magazine dressed in a black leather corset and thigh high boots.

The 26-year-old singer was placed in the number one spot on the magazines Hot 100 list and talked about what an honour it is.

'It’s a worldwide thing - the rest of the world makes it their standard. It’s on of the questions they ask me in all interviews now, even in places where Maxim doesn’t exist.'

When asked who she thinks should takeover her spot Katy gushed 'Zoe Saldana! She is so chic and so cool.'

Hacker Leaks Racy Photos of Christina Aguilera

2010-12-09T09:00:00.000+07:00

Christina Aguilera is hitting back after some semi-nude photos of her hit the Internet.

"The photos of Christina Aguilera being leaked to the press were illegally obtained by a hacker who tapped into Christina's personal stylist's account," according to a statement from the singer's rep. "The photos were taken in the privacy of Ms. Aguilera's home and were used only in a personal exchange between the star and her stylist."

It's unclear when the pictures were taken, but they show the singer wearing nothing but pasties and a few strands of jewel-encrusted fabric draped over her body.

"We are attempting to determine the identity of the hackers and will pursue them aggressively," the statement continues. "Their conduct is reprehensible."

Aguilera, who turns 30 Dec. 18, recently filed for divorce from her husband Jordan Bratman. The couple are parents to a 2 ½-year-old son.

iPad 2 Will Have LCD, Not AMOLED Display

2010-12-09T08:59:00.002+07:00

The rumors about the second generation iPad are still lingering, while people try to guess what features, and design elements, the next tablet device from Apple will have. The obvious suggestions that the device will feature a USB port, or front- and rear-facing cameras, along with the idea that the next tablet will have a Retina Display, has many people eager to see what Apple unveils in the first half of 2011. But, for those that were hoping that the iPad 2 will have an AMOLED display, it looks like those dreams have been dashed.

At least, if this new report from DigiTimes pans out. According to them, Coretronic will be the main supplier of the second generation iPad’s Back Light Units, or BLUs. What that means, is that there won’t be any AMOLED displays in the iPad 2, as AMOLED doesn’t require any back lighting.

Furthermore, it’s already been suggested that Chimei Innolux and LG have been chosen to crank out the LCD displays for the iPad 2. This news about the supplier for BLUs just drives home the potential fact that the next version of the iPad will feature an LCD panel. That does still leave some room for that whole Retina Display rumor, though.

Blake Lively and Ryan Gosling Together Again!

2010-12-09T08:59:00.001+07:00

Ryan Gosling premiered his fab new flick, Blue Valentine, in New York last night, and we know what you're thinking...

It seems like there have been a hundred "premieres" for this movie, but there was one thing—or rather person—last night had that the others did not.

That would be Blake Lively by Ryan's side all night!

As Marc Malkin told you guys yesterday, Blake is starring in a new ad campaign for Chanel (what doesn't this girl get?) and the hottie with a bangin' body flew back from a shoot in Paris in time for last night's screening.

Blake skipped press and the red carpet, but was snapped all smiles as she attempted to go in through a side door (pictured here) at the Museum of Modern Art, where the screening was taking place.

Lively and Gosling were later spotted at the afterparty at the Standard Hotel and apparently weren't too far apart—ever.

"They weren't obviously all over each other, but it seemed like they were together," dishes a fellow celebrating source. "There were times when they would be sitting down and he would kind of lay his hand on her knee. They were smiling, laughing, they looked happy!"

This whole thing sounds awfully cozy (not to mention ambitious for jet-setting Blake) for two good-lookin' babes who are just friends, no?

Blake and Ryan were first spotted undercover in October at Disneyland, and while Lively's rep denied they were there on a date, it was announced Blake split with longtime BF Penn Badgley two weeks later.

One guy very much in the NYC scene (who has a hilarious recap of last night, you must read) believes B and R to be dating.

But dating is so often such a meaningless term these days, is it not?

Our spy adds that Blake and Ryan didn't leave together.

We've put in calls to Lively and Gosling's reps but have yet to hear back.

Taylor Swift Concert Tickets Sell-Out…In Five Minutes!

2010-12-09T08:58:00.002+07:00

Three albums later and Taylor Swift’s still the hottest ticket in town.

Shh! Don’t tell Kanye.

Tickets for dates on Taylor’s upcoming Speak Now Tour are selling out faster than Swifty fans can update their browsers. The singer sold out two shows at the Staples Center in Los Angeles in two minutes and the 68,000-seat Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, in five minutes, The Hollywood Reporter said this week. Seven more sell-outs followed, all on the heels of a record-breaking run for her third album Speak Now, which sold over a million copies in its first week of release, making the disc the best debut for an artist in five years.

Concert promoters and ticket vendors haven’t seen this much fan interest in a show since Hannah Montana’s 2007 Best of Both Worlds Tour. Taylor’s tour managers have added additional shows to the tour schedule to accommodate more fans. One more Taylor show has been added at Gillette Stadium on June 26 and the “Love Story” songstress will now take the stage at the Staples Center on Aug. 27 and Aug. 28.

The full Speak Now Tour is expected to touch down in 19 countries for 90 shows set to kick off in Singapore on Feb. 9.

Taylor Swift’s First CoverGirl Ad Revealed!

Looks like Taylor Swift has something new to croon about. Though the news broke back in April that the singer would be the newest face of CoverGirl, fans have had to wait to see shots from the star’s ad campaign for the brand’s nature-inspired cosmetics line — until now. “I’m really excited for people to discover the new NatureLuxe line from CoverGirl!” Taylor said in a release. Not surprisingly, the fresh-faced country star proved herself to be as easy, breezy, beautiful as expected: surrounded by swathes of green fabric in a behind-the-scenes shot, Swift’s airy campaign shot reflects the feeling of the products, which were designed to deliver a polished but lightweight finish. “The Silk Foundation and Gloss Balm are really light and fresh, they feel amazing on my skin,” Swift raves of the makeup. Ready to sing its praises too? Fans can snag Taylor’s favorite products when they start rolling out in January.

The BlackBerry PlayBook Gets Its Video Close Up

2010-12-09T08:57:00.000+07:00

BGR has a video of the BlackBerry PlayBook in action and it looks pretty smooth. The video shows off the Playbook's app multitasking, the general user interface and answers questions on how it'll work with current BlackBerrys.

I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with the PlayBook. It's definitely more impressive than RIM's CEO, at least.

Susan Boyle returns to No. 1 on Billboard 200 albums chart

2010-12-09T01:38:00.001+07:00

Susan Boyle’s holiday gift to all has given her another week on top of the Billboard 200 albums chart. After being unseated Kanye West’s new album last week, The Gift sold 272,000 copies to bring her to No. 1. What most thought would debut on top this week, the Black Eyed Peas’ The Beginning, stalled at No. 6. Only 119,000 copies were bought. Taylor Swift’s Speak Now comes in at No. 2, moving 182,000 units. While 10-year-old America’s Got Talent sensation Jackie Evancho and her Christmas album, O Holy Night, comes in at No. 3 selling 145,000 copies. Check out the full top 10 below.

Dec. 8, 2010′s Billboard 200 albums top 10

No. 1 – Susan Boyle, The Gift: 272,000

No. 2 – Taylor Swift, Speak Now: 182,000

No. 3 – Jackie Evancho, O Holy Night: 145,000

No. 4 – Glee‘s Christmas album: 129,000.

No. 5 – Glee, The Music Volume 4: 128,000

No. 6 – Black Eyed Peas, The Beginning: 119,000.

No. 7 – Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy: 108,000

No. 8 – Nicki Minaj, Pink Friday: 103,000

No. 9 – Josh Groban, Illuminations: 78,000

No. 10 – Rihanna, Loud: 77,000

Samsung Gloria to be a Windows 7 tablet with sliding keyboard

2010-12-09T01:37:00.001+07:00

According to an unconfirmed report on French enthusiast blog Blogeee.net, Samsung is currently developing a Windows 7 tablet PC with a slide-out keyboard. Citing multiple sources, the blog says that a forthcoming tablet from Samsung — codenamed Samsung Gloria — will feature a 10-inch touchscreen display and a slide-out keyboard. The concept seems less than ideal; a device that large with a keyboard that slides out and remains parallel to the display would basically be a nightmare to use. While the blog’s mock-up of the device, pictured above, shows a landscape slider, we can only see this working if the keypad slides out in portrait orientation — unless Samsung has managed to develop an adjustable display mechanism like the one found on the HTC Touch Pro. On a device this large, however, such a mechanism would likely cause the device to topple over. But Blogeee.net is convinced the device is destined for market, and our interest is definitely peaked. According to the report, the Samsung Gloria will be released some time in March or April 2011.

Avril Lavigne “Goodbye Lullaby” Album Release March 8, 2011

2010-12-09T00:30:00.001+07:00

Punk pop princess Avril Lavigne will release her fourth studio album, Goodbye Lullaby, on March 8, 2011.

Goodbye Lullaby is led by the uptempo tune “What The Hell?” which will debut in a live performance by Avril on Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve 2011 special, airing on ABC at the end of this month. Other tracks on the disc include “Smile,” in which Avril expresses her gratitude for special people in her life — life beau Brody Jenner we presume. Lavigne explores the dynamics of a relationship in “Push” andshows her vulnerable side in “Wish You Were Here.” The singer recently finalized her divorce from Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley and sings about closing one chapter in her and moving on to another on “Goodbye.”

It’s an effort more than two years in the making for the “Girlfriend” singer-songwriter, who promises a more raw and organic sound on this effort. Last month, Avril posted an open letter to her Official Website blasting bosses at her RCA recording label for failing to support the project.

“This has been a really difficult record for me to create and to release,” she wrote at the time. “Not only is this the most meaningful and special record I have written, it is sincere, honest and close to my heart, but for the first time I experienced a bunch of bureaucratic BS (bulls**t). People do their best work when they are doing what they want, love and is natural for them, not when you are forcing them to be something that they are not.”

Avril will also be releasing her third fragrance early next year.

Jennifer Tells Chatty Chelsea to Zip It About Angelina

2010-12-09T00:29:00.002+07:00

Just hours after I clued you in on Jennifer Aniston's new best friend, Chelsea Handler, going on a particularly nasty and graphic rant about Angelina Jolie, calling the mother of six a "f****ing b***h" and a "c**t," Chelsea addressed the situation on her E! show, 'Chelsea Lately,' making it clear Jennifer had nothing to do with her pointed attack.

"I've been making fun of Angelina Jolie since she made out with her brother," Chelsea laughed. "If I've learned nothing from this, it's to write some new jokes." Sources tell me Jennifer would agree, except she doesn't think this is a laughing matter and has told her feisty friend to give it a rest.

"Jen has gone out of her way to keep her private feelings about that woman who stole her husband private and has always asked her friends to do the same," an insider tells me. "She is furious with Chelsea for bringing the whole situation back to life again and landing her on the cover of a weekly magazine tomorrow with a Brad headline."

Sources tell me Jen hasn't felt this betrayed since John Mayer held a "press conference" to announce he was breaking up with her. Yeah, that was pretty bad.

The notoriously private actress has kept her inner circle close. Two of the newer additions to that exclusive club -- John and Chelsea -- have both gone and blown it.

"Jen doesn't just let these sort of people in her life," a friend of the actress tells me. "She hates drama or unnecessary attention and certainly doesn't want to ever see her face on a tabloid again with a headline about Angie or Brad."

I'm told Jen wants badly to believe Chelsea didn't revive her Angelina-skewering jokes now that the two are good friends.

"Even so," the friend admits, "she's happy Chelsea made it clear her rant had nothing to do with her and wishes she'd just keep her big mouth shut in the future."

'Pirates 4'? 'Breaking Dawn Part 1'? The final 'Harry Potter'? What 2011 movies can you not wait to see?

2010-12-09T00:29:00.001+07:00

Yeah yeah yeah, 2010 isn’t quite over, and there are still several films high on our want-to-see list — Tron: Legacy, How Do You Know?, True Grit, Little Fockers, etc. But 2011 is nigh upon us, and we here at PopWatch central could not help but notice how jam-packed the impending year truly is with highly anticipated movies of all stripes. To wit: In the spring, we’ve got the Johnny Depp animated film Rango (March 4), sci-fi action flicks I Am Number Four (Feb. 18) and Battle: Los Angeles (March 11), and Zack Snyder’s geektastic fantasia Sucker Punch (March 25). The summer promises the flying fists of Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom (May 26), the mysterious J.J. Abrams film Super 8 (June 10), the plastered doofuses of The Hangover 2 (May 26), more of Michael Bay’s stampeding robots in Transformers: Dark of the Moon (July 1), and a cavalcade of comic-book movies: Thor (May 6), Captain America (July 22), X-Men: First Class (June 3), Green Lantern (June 17). And a full year from now, we’ll be talking about fall and holiday movies like Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn (Dec. 23) and Steven Spielberg’s War Horse (Dec. 28), or Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (Dec. 16) and Daniel Craig in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Dec. 21).

Shoosh. That is a lot of movies, PopWatchers, and that’s barely scratching the surface. For one thing, I haven’t even mentioned the return of Capt. Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (May 20), the beginning of the end of The Twilight Saga with Breaking Dawn Part 1 (Nov. 18), and the end of the end of the Harry Potter saga with The Deathly Hallows — Part 2 (July 15). So many movies! But which, dear readers, can you simply not wait a single second more to see?

Hugh Jackman: How 'The Wolverine' director Darren Aronofsky got the star calling up The Rock

2010-12-09T00:28:00.001+07:00

Will The Wolverine be the biggest hit of the X-Men universe? We won’t know till the film opens (reportedly in 2012) but it certainly might be our biggest Wolverine: Hugh Jackman tells EW that director Darren Aronofsky has already asked him to gain 25 lbs of muscle — “which is more than I ever have for the role” — before filming begins next spring. “It’s not easy for me,” he says. “Because I’m actually quite long and lean.” For advice he turned to none other than The Rock! “I had a chat with Dwayne Johnson, who did 25 pounds for his movie,” Jackman says, referring to Johnson’s latest, Faster. “I rang him up and was like, Okay, tell me what’s going on.” The answer: Six months, a pound a week, 6,000 calories a day which, Jackman points out, is an awful lot of chicken, steak, and brown rice.

Still, he’s very excited about re-teaming with Darren Aronofsky (whose Black Swan is doing even better than expected in limited release), after previously working with him on 2006′s The Fountain. “I love every one of his movies,” he says. “He’s a visionary. I’ve been trying to get Darren since X-Men 3, really. We’ve been talking about this and Wolverine for so long.”

There aren’t too many details yet about the film, which is to be a one-off rather than a traditional sequel. But, Jackman says, “we had a meeting about three weeks ago, catching up as friends more than anything, and he just ran a few ideas by me and my eyes just lit up, because already I think this is like a whole new ballgame – just the ideas, the level of depth, and intelligence, and creativity. I think he’s been waiting so long to do a movie in this genre. When he found the script, he said this is it. It’s really exciting.”

HTC “will definitely have” Android 2.3 Gingerbread phones

2010-12-09T00:27:00.001+07:00

No surprise here, really, but it’s good to see it confirmed: HTC has recently told Tech Radar that it “will definitely have” Android 2.3 Gingerbread on a number of its handsets.

Most likely, some existing Android 2.2 Froyo smartphones are included here, alongside unannounced devices – like the HTC Knight / Evo Shift 4G.

It’s highly probable that handsets like the Desire HD, Desire Z, Droid Incredible, EVO 4G, and even the first Desire, will get Gingerbread eventually. HTC didn’t provide any specific details on Gingerbread updates, though.

Earlier today, Google’s Dan Morrill tweeted that Gingerbread’s hardware needs are similar to Froyo’s, so, theoretically, any Froyo smartphone can be updated to Gingerbread. Of course, in the end, it’s up to phone makers to roll-out updates.

So that's how she keeps in shape! AnnaLynne McCord shops for EasyTone trainers

2010-12-08T12:18:00.004+07:00

AnnaLynne McCord is in amazing shape and has a body many women would die for.

But the 23-year-old has to work hard to maintain her figure and she abides to a gruelling workout schedule.

However, the 90210 star isn't beyond getting a little help here and there - and what better than the trainers that promise to tighten and tone your legs and butt as you just walk around.

AnnaLynne stopped by the Fox Hills Mall in Culver City, California yesterday and was on a sole mission.

The actress headed straight to the Lady Foot Locker to peruse the racks and racks of trainers.

But she's a lady who knows exactly what she wants and AnnaLynne selected several different pairs of trainers, all in the Reebok EasyTone range.

The tiny actress showed off her already amazingly slim trim and perfectly toned legs in a pair of cut-off denim short shorts.

In a look that would appear completely ludicrous on anyone over 23-years-old and over 110lbs Annalynne was also wearing some long white knee high sports socks.

The blonde finished off her unique look with an off-the shoulder black T-shirt over a red vest top.

McCord tried on various different pairs of trainers, walking around the store trying them out for comfort and checking out how they looked in the mirror.

In the end, after much deliberation she settled on an $80 black pair of EasyTone reinspires, which promise: 'Get a better butt and legs with every step.'

AnnaLynne was obviously eager to start her transformation immediately - though what there is to improve is another matter - as she left the store in her brand new trainers.

The actress shared some of her diet and workout tips with Shape Magazine earlier this year.

Her number one is: 'Think thin'.

AnnaLynne grew up in the American South in Georgia, Atlanta, and in true Southern fashion she was surrounded by high-calorie foods.

'It's all about butter, sugar, fried, and deep-fried,' she says in a light drawl. Despite the tempting treats, she's kept a trim figure her entire life-thanks, she says, to her mum.

Ten years ago, her mother lost 45 pounds with strategies she picked up from The Weigh Down Diet.

'The author studied the habits of thin people and discovered that when they're done eating, they wrap up their leftovers instead of just finishing whatever they were served,' says AnnaLynne.

By following a few basic guidelines—such as pushing away your plate when you're full and allowing for splurges in moderation—her mother got much fitter and inspired her three daughters to 'think thin' in the process.

Number two on AnnaLynne's list is: Cook when you can.

The actress has to abide by a crazy and unpredictable schedule whilst she is filming. She often has to be on set at 6am and doesn't fall back into bed until 2 am the following day.

So, breakfast is usually the only meal she says she gets to eat at a normal time.

Usually she has an egg sandwich or French toast-or both if she's really hungry. She tends to graze the rest of the day, grabbing a turkey and ham sandwich for lunch, a handful of red and green pepper strips with ranch dressing or cereal bars for a snack, and vegetable soup plus fish or chicken for dinner.

But when she isn't working like crazy she likes to cook up some healthy fare, with her speciality being citrus chicken.

She starts by marinating chicken breasts in lemon and lime juice, then sautéing them in olive oil and more citrus juice.

She throws in lots of fresh chopped herbs, like rosemary, sage, and thyme, and browns the chicken slowly until it's done.

She pairs that with a side of fresh spinach sautéed in olive oil and garlic on top of fettuccine. 'I love this meal because it's simple and ready in 30 minutes,' she says.

And even AnnaLynne allows herself the occasional cheat day. The actress professes to a love of Taco Bell and Mexican pizza amongst other junk food favourites.

But she adheres to her mum's moderation rule and only allows herself to indulge once or twice a week.

AnnaLynne's tip number three is: Sweat with a friend.

'With my unpredictable work hours, I rarely have time to exercise and have fun, so my idea of a good workout is to mix them both,' she says.

'I love being outdoors, playing beach tennis, going for runs in the sand, or doing a three-hour hike with my best girlfriend, Mieko.

'We go to Runyon Canyon or some other hiking trail and just walk and talk for hours,' she says. 'It's our one-on-one time.'

And carrying on the same theme, number four is: Think outside the gym.

'When I first moved to L.A., I didn't have a lot of money to join a gym or take classes, so I improvised,' she says.

'My sister and I went to the library and looked over their DVD collection and discovered Neena and Veena, these Egyptian twins who have a whole series of belly dancing routines. We did them all.'

Not only is it a complete workout, says AnnaLynne, belly dancing has a positive side benefit as well: 'When you're shaking your booty,' she says, 'you can't help but feel beautiful and sexy.'

Shiloh is mummy's little soldier as Angelina takes the Jolie-Pitts Christmas shopping

2010-12-08T12:18:00.003+07:00

The twelve days of Christmas are yet to begin but Shiloh Jolie-Pitt is already in the festive mood.

The four-year-old couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she happily ran ahead of her mother on a shopping trip in New York yesterday showing off her big gap-toothed grin.

Angelina Jolie had treated Shiloh, sister Zahara and brothers Pax and Maddox to a spot of shopping ahead of the Christmas rush.

Shiloh showed off her seasonal style in a bright red military style coat with gold applets making her look just like a toy soldier as she visited Lee's Art Store.

Her smiling sister Zahara, five, was dressed in an almost identical outfit to her stylish mother in a black wool coat and tall black boots.

The three ladies were accompanied by Pax, seven, who was wrapped up for the cold weather in a furry jacket and matching fur hat with ear flaps and his brother Maddox, eight, who looked cool in a camouflage puffer vest.

Just last night Angelina celebrated the release of her new film The Tourist at its World premier held at the Ziegfield Theater.

At the event Angelina, 35, discussed spending the holidays in the city she grew up in.

'I love New York at Christmastime,' she told Entertainment Tonight.

'I used to come here all the time when I was a little girl, with my mum, so I have happy memories of Rockefeller Centre and the park,' said the mother of six.

She admitted she is excited 'to be able to take the babies on a carriage ride'.

Angelina added: 'I think just kind of walking around really was my favourite thing to do. Now it's a little harder.'

Angelina and her partner Brad Pitt, 46, certainly appeared to be feeling the Christmas spirit themselves as they walked the red carpet at the event and posed for pictures.

The couple, who have been together for five years and have six children together, could barely keep their hands off each other.

CONFIDENTIAL! Looks Like “Google +1″ Was Just Accidentally Revealed (Pic)

2010-12-08T12:18:00.001+07:00

We’ve confirmed with a source what you see above is what we do very much believe to be a picture of Google’s latest social foray. Yes, it’s the artist formerly known as “Google Me”, then known as “Emerald Sea“, and now known as “Google +1“.

As you can see, it’s a toolbar that exists along the top of Google’s properties — in this case, Google News. There’s a Share button, a place for a Google account icon, and a Google username. Next to it is a numerical count — it’s not clear what this is for just yet. (Maybe a share count?) And next to that is an options menu.

Also note the big red “CONFIDENTIAL!” label. Yes, the person who shared this clearly wasn’t supposed to.

One other important thing to note: the “Loop” area in the left side toolbar links. This is exactly in-line with what we’ve reported so far about Google +1 — namely that a key part of it is based around “loops”, which seems to be Google’s word for “groups”. Loop is also what we’ve heard an iPhone app in testing is being called.

Finally, remember that we reported on a new Google toolbar area being tested out a few weeks ago. It appears that this is very much to make room for Google +1, which should launch early next year.

Below, find some clearer pictures of the area.

We’ve reached out to Google for comment on this image, but have yet to hear back. We’ll update if and when we do.

Update from Google (that was quick!):

“We’re always experimenting with new ways to improve our products, and we have already confirmed that we are focused on incorporating social elements across Google. But we have nothing new to announce at this time.”

Google: Chrome OS laptops won't dual boot with Windows, live customer support for Cr-48 owners

2010-12-08T12:17:00.003+07:00

We know there's a lot to digest after Google's Chrome OS event today, but following the shindig we caught a few minutes with Google VP of Product Management Sundar Pichai. While he wouldn't answer our questions about upcoming Chrome OS laptops -- you know, the ones coming from partners such as Acer and Samsung in mid-2011 -- he did tell us that those Atom-powered laptops won't dual boot Windows. In fact, he told us that "certified" Chrome OS laptops won't support dual boot environments at all. Of course, the Cr-48 has a root feature so it will likely be able to run Windows (assuming there's enough flash storage), but it's clear that major manufacturers won't be shipping laptops with Google and Microsoft operating systems living side by side.

With that said, we asked Sundar about one of the major concerns we've had about Chrome OS: customer support. (Some history here -- we've heard from a few laptop manufacturers that Google's lack of customer service for the computer OS is a major issue and a legitimate reservation). Sundar said that it's a valid concern, but that the OS is incredibly simple and that Google doesn't expect to have many confused or troubled customers when it's ready for primetime. Nevertheless, Google will provide live support for those that receive a Cr-48 and help with any and all issues. No word on if that aid will continue past this limited pilot program, but we're sure there will be more much more to come on all of this next year.

LG invents imaginary 1GHz processor requirement to say Optimus One won't get Gingerbread

2010-12-08T12:17:00.001+07:00

So here's the story: dude asks LG's US mobile team on Facebook when the Optimus One -- the basis for the various Optimus devices that have launched recently on American carriers -- will be getting Android 2.3. LG responds saying that "the minimum requirements for Gingerbread require 1 GHz processor," hence, no update's in the cards. Well, Android lead Dan Morrill took to Twitter to drop some knowledge, saying "there's no hard minimum processor requirement for Gingerbread... trust me, if there were I'd know." In other words, whoever's manning the ship on LG's Facebook account is either sorely underinformed or showed some awful judgment in choosing a lie to justify keeping the Optimus off the upgrade path. Sure, we can understand why LG wouldn't want to temper excitement for a still-new smartphone line by telling buyers their phones won't be receiving the next version of the platform, but the least they could've done is formulated a reasonable excuse, no?

Is this scar a sign Christina Aguilera has had breast implants?

2010-12-08T09:00:00.001+07:00

Christina Aguilera has never commented on speculation her buxom figure has had a helping hand from a plastic surgeon.

But as the star waved to fans at the Tokyo press conference for her new film, Burlesque, an apparent scar under her arm may have given her secret away.

The small line could be the result of a transaxillary endoscopic breast augmentation - a breast enlargement technique where implants are placed through an armpit incision.

Experts say the popular method usually leaves an inch-long scar and is the preferred option for patients who want to avoids scars on the breast.

Aguilera's décolletage has certainly increased over the years, and while could be the result of carrying more weight, her latest outing suggests there may be more to it.

Meanwhile, Christina was busy promoting her new film during her trip to Japan.

The star of the new movie Burlesque, a song-and-dance extravaganza about a small-town girl trying to make it big, said that she felt doubly challenged by the acting and dancing demands of the lead role of Ali Rose, and she was at first inclined to turn it down.

Aguilera said although she is accustomed to dancing when she performs on stage, she considers herself first and foremost a singer.

'I was scared of being out there with real, professional dancers,' Aguilera, who has won four Grammy awards, said at a news conference ahead of the film's Tokyo premiere. 'It's harder than it looks.'

'Probably the unsexiest thing is to see a dancer's feet,' she said. 'After dancing for 17 or 18 hours a day every day, your feet are just bruises and calluses.'

The movie also features Cher, who, at 64, is marking her first major feature-film role since 1999's Tea With Mussolini, and Kristen Bell, formerly star of the hit TV series Veronica Mars.

Director-writer Steven Antin said he had to convince a worried Aguilera that she had enough acting and dancing in her for the role. But, he said, she quickly rose to the occasion.

'Christina has an extraordinary innate acting ability,' he said. 'She had many reservations. I believed she could do it. I watched her do it every day.'

'That was a great relief - I really needed her to be happy,' he said.

Demi Lovato Ready to Make a Deal With Dinged-Up Dancer

2010-12-08T08:59:00.001+07:00

Now this is the responsible way to handle a dispute.

The lawyer for Alex "Shorty" Welch—Demi Lovato's former backup dancer and the girl at the center of the alleged altercation that prompted the Disney star to seek treatment last month—confirms to E! News exclusively that the two are close to kissing and making up.

Yes, the two camps have been busy hashing out a settlement to keep Welch from launching a lawsuit against Lovato. Here's the deal...

"I have engaged in discussions with Demi Lovato's attorney," Welch's lawyer, Don Karpel, tells E! News exclusively. "I'm fairly confident we will be able to resolve these issues."

A rep for Lovato, meanwhile, confirmed to E! News that talks have taken place: "They did speak."

"Demi's attorneys have had an initial discussion with Mr. Karpel," Lovato's spokesman Jesse Derris said in a statement. "They are exploring the possibility of an amicable resolution of this matter. We do not plan on making further public comments during this process."

The discussions began this morning, after Karpel was contacted by a member of Lovato's camp. The olive branch was extended after Welch went public with the revelation that she not only had she not received an apology from her former pal, but that Welch had heard nothing at all from Lovato since the altercation.

(Quick recap: the weekend before she entered treatment, Welch alleges she got into a scuffle with Lovato while on tour with the Jonas Brothers. Welch claims Lovato punched her in the face, resulting in a black eye—photographs which surfaced this week. Sources close to Lovato say the incident prompted Lovato to enter a facility and seek treatment for "personal issues.")

Just yesterday, Karpel vowed he would file suit against the Sonny With a Chance star "in the next seven to 10 days" for alleged assault and battery.

That apparently got Team Demi's attention.

Along with the mental and emotional ramifications of the incident, Karpel claims that Welch suffered lasting physical damage as well, noting that Welch had consulted a cosmetic surgeon in the wake of the attack.

Kim Kardashian and Gabriel Aubry Split

2010-12-08T08:58:00.001+07:00

It was fun while it lasted!

Kim Kardashian, 30, and model Gabriel Aubry, 34, had a fast romance – a Lakers game, quiet nights at home and bonding over family – but the two have already gone their separate ways, PEOPLE confirms.

"They still talk," says a source close to the duo. "They were getting to know each other, but realized they might be better off just being friendly."

Kardashian, who has made no secret of her fun and flirty outlook and single status, was ready to move on and get back into the dating game.

In fact, she's been seeing New Jersey Nets player Kris Humphries "for a while now," says the source of Kardashian and the 25-year-old forward. "Kim was dating, seeing a few guys and Gabriel and Kris were both of the guys. She is single after all!"

So what is it about the basketball star that Kardashian likes? "They get along so well," says another source. "They've been taking it slow but they have so much fun together."

The pair were spotted kissing and holding hands in Hoboken, New Jersey over the weekend.

Google shows Chrome notebook, Web Store

2010-12-08T08:57:00.000+07:00

The Chrome OS hardware Google promised in July of last year is still not ready for prime time. But if you're a developer or an eager early adopter, you're in luck.

At an event today here in the city's Dogpatch neighborhood Google showed us the not-yet-finished hardware that will run Chrome OS. It's called CR-48, and it's not much to look at: a plain, black, unbranded notebook that companies and individual users who are accepted into Google's pilot program can use.

The actual Chrome OS notebooks that normal people can buy, from Samsung and Acer, are delayed until mid-2011. When Google initially pitched the idea last year, it said we'd be seeing them right about now.

Now, for the specs:

12.1-inch screen.
Full size keyboard.
Oversized clickpad.
Qualcomm Gobi 3G chip for Verizon data in the US, your carrier of choice internationally.
802.11n dual-band WiFi.
8+ hours of active use.
8+ days of standby.
Webcam.
Flash storage.

But we did learn about a lot of features we'll eventually see in the hardware when it does arrive:

Every Chrome notebook will work with Verizon 3G service. Each user gets 100MB of free data per month for two years. You can also buy different plans, the first starting at a day pass for $9.99. There are no overage charges or cancellation or setup fees.
There are options to have different user IDs on the same machine as well as a guest mode with completely private ("Incognito") browsing.
Your experience with setting up and using Chrome will be the same no matter what machine you're using. Everything is synced through the browser.
They worked hard on tying the browser directly to the hardware for security purposes. There is auto updating, sandboxing at the OS level, and all user data is encrypted by default.
There's also something called Verified Boot. Verified Boot makes sure that the OS is in the read-only firmware of the computer, so no software can modify it. When you boot Chrome OS, it checks to make sure nothing has been modified. Google is calling it "the most secure consumer operating system that's ever been shipped."

In the department of products that are actually ready for public consumption, today we are getting the Chrome Web Store. It had been previewed before, but it's finally ready to go. The New York Times, Electronic Arts, Amazon, and Citrix demonstrated their apps for an audience of journalists and Googlers here today.

The store is integrated with the Google Checkout payment system so you can just click to buy and download apps. Some subscription apps have free trial mode, and some, like the New York Times app, work offline.

The Web Store will be ready for anyone to use "later today," according to the event host, Vice President of Product Management Sundar Pichai. It's made to work with the Chrome browser, but it does work with other "modern browsers," according to Google.

We also got an update on Chrome browser features:

Automatic updates
Browser sandboxing. If a bad piece of code gets in your browser it won't be able to get to the rest of your computer's data.
Plug-in sandboxing. They're starting to do the same thing with browser plug-ins like Flash and PDF.

CEO Eric Schmidt stopped by for a few minutes near the end of the presentation to talk up Chrome, specifically noting that he was against it when co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin said they wanted to be in the browser business. Schmidt said he tried to block the project but the co-founders went ahead and hired a team of browser experts that had worked on Firefox.

Try Chrome Web Store here https://chrome.google.com/webstore/