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While most info is scarce, we’ve managed to pick up some new unconfirmed details about the long awaited iPhone release in Israel. As reported, Apple has recently approached the Antitrust Authority in order to officially approve all of its activities with the local carriers in the country, and to make sure there are no legal issues left ahead of the coming launch, which initially supposed to take place back in August. Now we’ve been told, that the official debut will happen somewhere between the 25th to the 27th of November, in all large Israeli operators, contingent upon final approvals from the Ministry Of Communication. Additionally, we’ve just learned that the iPhone itself will be offered in the following forms:

iPhone 3GS 16GB – is priced around 4000 NIS, pay to go (prepaid), while contract packages will run you only 999NIS.

iPhone 3GS 32GB – is priced around 5000NIS, pay to go (prepaid), while contracted users will pay only 1499NIS.

iPhone 3G – we were told there’s a small amount of 3G devices, that may (or may not) go out for 599NIS .

In any case, all packages include a monthly fee, ranged between 200 – 300 NIS, and being delivered with A) 150 SMS text messages B) 200 minutes talk and C) 100MB of data.

From what we know, and specifically for this task, all carriers already recruited special salespersons, who suppose to take a two weeks course and learn about the iPhone machines during this period of time. The orders these people were given are very clear: “Sell only iPhones or don’t sell anything”.  Stay tuned for more info to come.

“Pay to go” = without a contract.

Update1: Mind you this info is relevant for today, as dates and details may vary.

Update2: Data packages will apparently cost 69NIS for 1GB, both in Cellcom and Orange, if you’re buying iPhone or Android devices.

Update3: As mentioned, 1GB of data will cost 69NIS, but those who exceed the limit will pay 10NIS for every additional 1MB they use.

Update4: Besides the 1 year warranty, it seems the carriers will not include any repairing insurance when buying an iPhone in Israel. That means you won’t be able to buy insurance for your iPhone in order to subsidize repairing beyond the first year.

Update5: After endless rumors floating around, the Cupertino team has officially announced that all three carriers can start selling the iPhone in Israel, starting from December 10. That of course happened after Apple has managed to clear up a few regulatory hurdles and received the final approval needed.

Update6: Read more updates about release day, packages and prices in here.

It’s not a real player these days without a full fledged touchscreen panel hovering the entire media device from bottom to top, and South Korean Digital Cube is one company that seems to realize it pretty well with its latest i-Station Emerald E9 PMP, which practically boasts a resistive 3-inch display, clean of buttons on top. In Apple’s well-received iPod Touch tradition, the new Emerald device packs a built-in accelerometer for landscape view, along with other typical features, including an FM tuner, a mic, a video output, 7EQ, an e-book reader, and flash storage drives, sized at 4GB ($115) or 8GB ($132) capacities at your choice. Formats support looks pretty extensive, no matter what color you get to choose – either black or white – neither of them will cross western lines, soon.

[i-Station]

RAmos are best known for their PMP devices, but the Chinese company seems to be reaching these days some more mainstream machines, with the official Android-based W7 MID announcement, which unveils a 4.8-inch 800 x 480 touchscreen, powered by a strong ARM9 chipset platform and a 600MHz Rockchip RK2808 architecture that technically decodes any common 720p videos in a swift. Besides that, you get a full fledged Android OS to handle RAmos’ system smoothly, while specs wise, you also receive a built-in wifi antenna paired with 3G WWAN connectivity and 8GB or 16GB storage capacities to choose from. Availability is yet to be determined, but prices have already been set to $190 and $234, respectively. Stay tuned.

Update1: Now you can check it closely, by watching the video we placed, right after the jump.

Update2: More images can be found here.

[via MP4Nation]

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While most Nvidia ion-based netbooks are scheduled to go live at the end of this year, HP seems to be the one to take matters into its own hands and be the first to hit the scene with a graphics-boosted netbook device. The model we’re talking about is the Mini 311, which recently showed up on HP’s online shop with an HD compatible 11.6-inch (1,366 x 768) display, Atom N270 processor, an integrated 802.11b/g wireless LAN, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive and built-in VGA and HDMI ports for external image use. Microsoft’s Windows XP stuffed inside to handle this powerful system, while a near-full-size (92%) keyboard, three USB hubs and Altec Lansing speakers are all part of the deal. Starting price looks pretty attractive, at $399, but any add-on will set you back an extra cash. Thus, an Atom N280, Bluetooth and 802.11n will charge you $25 each, while white flavors are listed for another $20 and 3G WWAN connection is set for $125 more. Nevertheless, we still think it’s a good bargain, especially when it runs a 720p flash video flawlessly. See for yourself after the break.

Update1: It’s not that we needed any further proof to make us believe that HP’s Mini 311 netbook is capable handling advanced high-def media files better than others, but just in case, here are some facts – risen from LaptopMag’s benchmark tests – to maintain our claims: on the PCMark 05, the 311 has scored 1,917 points, that’s 500 points above the average, while the PCMark 06 review has given the 311 a 1,386 score, which is  1,200 on top of the ordinary and just about the same score as a MacBook Air. Very impressive, isn’t it?

Update2: If you have any plans on getting one, the guys at MyHPMini discovered interesting details from HP’s service manual. In general, the 311 will soon be out in different Windows 7  versions, including Windows 7 Starter, Basic, Premium, and Professional flavors. Additionally, you’ll also get a chance to upgrade your netbook and stuff inside cool specs like:

• NVIDIA ION, the FULL platform, only with Windows 7
• 1GB RAM (plus 1GB on-board ram), total 2GB
• 2GB RAM (plus the 1GB on-board), total 3GB
• 80GB Solid-State-Drive (SSD)
• 250GB Hard Drive, 5400rpm, only with Windows 7
• 320GB Hard Drive, 5400rpm, only with Windows 7

Now that’s what we’re looking for.

[HP]

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So the guys at Gizmodo were lucky and generous at the same time, to share with us the future of touchscreen tablet PCs, the way it looks through Redmond’s eyes. The “top-secret” model that was surprisingly exposed out of the labs called the Courier, and seems to portray a sort of a futuristic booklet prototype that presumably packs dual 7-inch displays that can be used either with a stylus pen or multitouch gestures. A built-in 3MP camera seems to be included as well at the back cover, while “home” button is  placed at the middle, sending users back to default page whenever they want. Charging mode is believed to be inductive (like Palm Pre’s Touchstone), while both external design and UI platform are said to be made in collaboration with outsourced agencies. The rest unfortunately is still considered enigmatic, but to get a sense of feeling just hit the jump, watch the video and start dreaming.

Update: ZDNet guys are saying the entire Courier platform is hovering a Windows 7 OS (although you can’t install Windows 7 apps on it) , and that the mission is being defined as “an incubation project” which aims to go live somewhere on mid-2010.

[via Gizmodo]

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We already know Viliv and the highly rated MIDs and UMPCs it makes, but even though, the Koreans won’t settle with scarce line of products and apparently these days, are showing off at IDF 2009, their new portable series which seems to include the S10, which looks like a new 10-inches tablet netbook device that technically packs 1,366 x 768 resistive swivel touchscreen, but also Intel’s Atom 1.33GHz or 2.0GHz processors (the 2.0GHz CPU isn’t available yet) and Windows 7 OS, the premium version. Besides that, Viliv lets you choose between 32 or 64GB SSDs (at 70MBps read rates), together with an optional 3G WWAN, 1GB of RAM, a 10 hours battery that runs at one single charge and a built-in webcam, probably a 1.3 megapixels one. Still no word when or where this White/Black hues unit suppose to go live (more likely around Q4 09), but starting price is claimed to stand at $500. Hands on video – for your eyes only – is right after the break.

Update1: Apparently, Viliv’s S10 tablet netbook just turned official. The 10.1 inch multitouch swivel screen, known as the Blade, integrates 4G mobile WiMAX and 3G HSPA connectivity inside. In addition, viliv has also launched the 4.8-inch clamshell MID, N5 which packs 3G and WiFi as well. PR after the break.

Update2: We’ve added a short hands-on video of the Viliv N5, coming straight from CES 2010, courtesy of engadget. Check it out after the jump.

[via umpcportal]

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TabletKiosk storms into the tablets market with a new 12.1-inch tablet pc device which apparently boasts the desert-like name, Sahara NetSlate a230T, and seems to have Intel’s Atom N270 processor along with some other cool specs that include either a mandatory 120GB hard drive or the optional SSD flavor, 1GB of RAM (upgradable to 2.0 GB), Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, Dual-Band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n connectivity, an optional 3G/3.G WWAN Module, and design wise, a sleeky rounded-edges frame, housing two stereo speakers on both sides. Display, as mentioned, sized at 12.1-inch and sports a multi-touch screen experience, in case you’re using the embedded Windows XP OS, although the company will also provide some other alternatives on top of that, like openSUSE Linux version or Microsoft’s Windows Vista OS, which practically grants users a free copy of Windows 7, the moment the platform comes out . At that end, the a230T tablet machine is now listed on TableKiosk’s online shop, ready to be shipped right away – but before getting one, talk with your banker, it’s $1395 for the entry level model.

[via tabletkiosk]

Korean company UMID didn’t have much of a success when first launched its 4.8-inches M1 mini netbook version, a few months ago. But now, after finally fixing up some of the main issues that turned its first round somehow repelled, a new edition, which carries the name “M2″ has risen up from the dark, and is now ready to be rolled out somewhere towards the end of the year, for a much cheaper price of $499 (instead of $765). First thing you’ll notice is the screen, that apparently flips out and turns widely open on the M2 (thanks to the new hinge), compared to its very angle-limited predecessor. This fact will help new M2 users hold the unit comfortably in their hands and type the keyboard in a more convenient way than previously done. Other thing you might be noticing, is the real USB port that was hooked to UMID’s M2 revamped chassis, which doesn’t necessarily require any dongles to connect. Besides that, the company has also integrated an optical mouse, that seats on front of the M2 bezel frame, while both left-right buttons were placed to the left. As for internal specs, you get to choose between 1.2 or 1.6GHz Intel Atom processors, which will presumably operate under the much expected Windows 7 OS and a larger 1GB of RAM. Other than that, UMID will probably stick to most of the parts, included in M1, but that’s for us to find out in the coming months. Until then, checkout Chippy’s recent introduction video right after the break.

Update: Turns out UMID M2 is now known as Onkyo BX, but besides the re-branding process nothing substantial has really changed. It still has that Intel 1.2GHz Atom Z515 processor, along a 4.8-inch 1024 x 600 LCD, a 32GB SSD and 512MB of memory. Design remains the same as well, so does the price – Â¥64,800, or $730. One more image after the jump.

[Via jkkmobile]

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This is a guest post by Israeli blogger Yarin Hochman, who has apparently spent a significant amount of time testing every single iPhone app, ever released. In this post he shares his experiences with Snapture’s newly born PiP camera app. You can read more from Yarin on his Hebrew tech blog, TechVibe.

I don’t know about you but for me, one of the biggest pains with my iphone machine is the camera. Now, I haven’t upgraded to the 3GS version yet, I personally don’t see any substantial reason to, but still, even the iphone 3GS camera itself, is apparently provided with tiny lens, very basic features and low quality images, when it comes to comparison with average Nokia\Blackberry cameras.

Today, Snapture, which previously released a camera app for jailbroken iPhones, seems to turn “legit”, by introducing an official version that is now available on Apple’s formal app store, under Snapture app (1.99$), and has made me like it from first impression, but not without a few reservations attached.

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It’s only been three weeks, since our wondering eyes first came across Asus’ 120N Nvidia Ion-based netbook machine, hiding out in a much speculated Eee PC road map slide that popped out in the wild. And here we are, not so long after, talking about it as a certain thing, scheduled for release somewhere this Autumn with a $500 price tag range and a high resolution 12-inch panel (1,366 x 768). And if we’d all be speaking Chinese well, the 250GB hard drive that Asus has stuffed inside, sitting along with 2GB of RAM, Intel Atom N270 processor, 1.3MP camera, Bluetooth 2.0 and 802.11n WiFi connectivity, probably wouldn’t make us surprised – well, maybe this N270 CPU, which seems to be too slow for such an input. Stay tuned, it should be hitting Western shores, packed with a Windows 7 OS, in a month or so.

Update1: Look, the guys from Eee PC Italia just got their hands on Asus 1201N and 1201HA full specs list and shared them online. Basically, both netbook machines will presumably pack a 12-inch 1366 x 768 displays, while the 1201N, which suppose to be the strongest among the two, will include a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N330 dual core processor, 3GB RAM, NVIDIA ION (GeForce 9400M) graphics chipset and 320GB hard drive, as its entry level sibling, the 1201HA suppose to have a 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520 CPU, along with Intel US15W / GMA 500 graphics, 2GB RAM and 250GB hard drive. Hit the jump to read the rest, no prices or release dates available at the moment.

Update2: Apparently, Asus Eee PC 1201N is scheduled to be released in Europe somewhere towards the end of the year (AKA: December), with this Atom Dual Core 330 CPU, Nvidia ION graphics chipset and a 12.1 1,366 x 768 display  – all compiled with a Windows 7 OS. Prices are yet to be determined.

Update3: Looks like the 1201N is up in Italy earlier than expected, offered on sale for 500 Euros – huzzah!

Update4: Now it’s official, as Asus has finally released its ION-based Eee PC 1201N machine, with all those nifty specs and cool features we’ve managed to see earlier, which include that 12.1-inch 1366 x 768 LED-backlit display, together with a 1.6GHz dual-core Atom 330 processor, either 2 or 3GB of RAM and storage capacity at 250 or 320GB HDD at your choice. Furthermore, you get a six-cell battery and Windows 7 Premium edition, already loaded aboard and running on your shelves somewhere around December for only $499. Official announcement after the break (image courtesy of PCMag)

Update5: It seems the Eee PC 1201HA’s debut has finally arrived to the US, as Asus’ second 12.1-inch netbook, which sports a 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520, together with 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, WiFi, and 6 hours battery, is up on sale on Best Buy, this time for the lower price of $329.99 but with an XP flavor pre-loaded inside. Seven fanboys should be skipping to the 1201N versionto catch up with Redmond’s latest version.

Update6: And, looks like Amazon has the Asus Eee PC 120N listed for pre-order, starting at $499 which will buy you a 12.1-inch display with Intel’s 1.6GHz N330 dual-core processor, 2GB of RAM (up to 8GB), 250GB HDD, WiFi, Bluetooth and last but not least, Microsoft’s Windows 7 Premium edition, already loaded into it. For the UK readers out there, this same version, only with an ION-based chipset will show up on your local Amazon somewhere around January 2010, priced at £399 (about $660). Stay tuned.

[Via NetbookItalia]

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Details scarce on specs, Chinese corp Teclast has recently rolled out a new PMP device, which technically sports 5 inches of 800 x 600 screen resolution, on one side, but in practice can output any video file to 1080P, from the other – that, of course, cannot be achieved without the built-in HDMI socket the player boasts. Out of the box, the T56 seems to offer the usual integrated voice recorder, paired with an FM tuner radio support, a USB host, and a card reader slot , all stuffed into a nice solid metal case. Other than that, the company impressively added a  GPS navigating system, to ease your way out wherever you are. Storage capacities haven’t been disclosed , while price and availability are yet to be determined, so stick around to get’em out.

Update: Now it’s said there’s a T58 version on the prep, which presumably includes the Android OS inside, that suppose to run under a dual-core ARM9 RISC processor, with an RK2808 chipset, WiFi, GPS, 1280 x 720 touchscreen, 720p support and common formats compatibility. Still no word on price or availability, but a teasing image is right after the break.

[via iMP3]

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Sony strikes again, this time with the new NW-A840 mp3 player, which is a 7.2mm walkman device that sports a 2.8-inch OLED display, upscaled to 720×480 pixel resolution via a built-in TV output. In addition, the A840 is probably one of the first portable audio  machines we’ve ever seen, to include a staggering 64GB flash drive storage, which lets you accommodate your entire audio/video library collection on such a tiny frame. Also bundled inside the box are Sony’s premium MDR-EX300SL earbuds, which come along with a reasonable battery, claimed to deliver up to 29-hours of music playback or 9 hours of video. Scheduled to October 31st, you get to choose out of three different A-series versions – the first, 16GB NW-A845 priced at Â¥24,000 (or $265), the second, 32GB NW-A846 which will cost you Â¥30,000 (or $330), and THE third, a 64GB NW-A847 that will set you back for Â¥40,000 (or $440) – all available either in Brown/Gold flavors (in picture) or an elegant Black.

Update: Looks like Sony just rolled out a European version of that Japanese NW-A840 walkman, which boasts exactly the same features, including a 2.8-inch OLED, paired with 7.2mm thin body and 28 hours of audio playback, but named NW-A845 and available in a 16GB “Falcon Black” version, only. Image after the break.

[Via Sony Insider]

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Dev Team has just released a Pwnage jailbreaking tool for iPhone 3.1 OS, used with Mac systems. Mind you, this new JB version can only work with Apple’s older machines and won’t support new ones, such as iPhone 3GS or iPod Touch second-gen. To get it down and start the process, move with cautious over the link below.

Because of changes with Apple’s update techniques this will be a multipart release, starting with the initial release of PwnageTool for Mac OS X – this application supports the iPhone 1st Generation (2G), The iPhone 3G and the iPod touch 1G. NB: THIS DOES NOT SUPPORT THE 3GS OR 2ND or 3RD GEN IPOD TOUCH. redsn0w for Mac OS X and Windows will follow sometime in the near future, please don’t bug us about it – we’ll release when we have something ready.

*

[viaDev Team]

It’s here! Microsoft officially rolls out its highly rated Zune HD media player, and boy this thing looks good. Yes, we know, most details are pretty much known at this point, but still deserve a round of applause, aren’t they? And just in case you missed the buzz, those fancy shcmancy specs we get, include a beautiful 3.3-inch Gorilla glass 480 x 272 OLED capacitive 16:9 aspect-ratio touchscreen, which hides underneath a built-in HD Radio receiver, seating along with a wireless WiFi antenna connection and a fine batch of accelerometer sensors for landscape use. Excited? We are, but that’s not all, since Redmond has wisely tossed in Nvidia’s mighty Tegra processor, which is technically constructed from eight different sub processors inside, that flawlessly handle their tasks at a time. Now that’s a real beast, isn’t it? OH Yeah. Storage wise, you get to choose between 16GB or 32GB flash capacities that fairly priced at $219.99 and $289.99, respectively.

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Need a new media player? The kind that has a 7-inch touchscreen, costs cheap and supports 720p high-def videos? Hong Kong based Brando, is now offering one – bmorn BM-888 – which basically looks like a digital frame, but essentially packs a lot more, with an FM tuner installed inside, paired with a built-in microphone, microSDHC slot expansion (bundled with 8GB card) and this HD compatible 800×480 TFT display, we’ve already noted. Regretfully, there’s no WiFi support, so internet surfing and Youtube playing are practically out of bounds. Nevertheless, it can still easily handle many common video/audio formats like MPEG (AVI), RM, RMVB, or  FLV, along with lossless audio and image files – and if that’s what you want, you’re only $149 USD far from having one.

[Brando]

Remember Vivienne Tam’s HP 1000 netbook edition? Turns out it now has a new “digital clutch” chic sequel, which recently showed up at New York’s Fashion Week catwalk show and said to be inspired by Chinese love story “Butterfly Lovers”. Thus, it’s all covered with light brown flavor and three beautiful butterflies, that according to Tam, “symbolize love, freedom, independence and transformation”, which are all suppose to be targeting modern women who admire the creation of “fashionable technology”. Regretfully HP hasn’t released any details about specs or pricing, until now, but with the clothing collection set to take off on Spring 2010, we seems to have plenty of time to bring’em on.

[via slashgear]

Despite Microsoft’s Zune HD event, which takes place this coming Tuesday, things look just as usual around DigitalCube’s  Korean headquarters, as the company officially debuts with iSTATION S3 PMP that “surprisingly” sports a 3.5-inch 800 x 480 AMOLED display, which packs underneath an HDMI output and a strong battery, running around 20 hours of audio and up to 8 hours of video. Other than that, the new S3 supports most common files while storage wise, is being offered in 8/16/32GB capacities. Prices and dates of release are yet to be determined. Be sure we’re here to get’em right away.

[via Aving]

In case you’re one of those people who look for one of those netbooks to set you up with the usual and non-pretentious specs, Epson just might be the firm that has the right solution. And with the company’s Endeavor Na01 mini, already well established around the unfamiliar netbook machines in town, it looks like another outlandish fellow is yet to join the batch. But hey, don’t you start developing highly expectations this time, since Epson’s Endeavor Na02 Mini-V is not much of a difference. In fact, it has just about the same things its ten-months-old predecessor boasts, only this new one also packs a 1.66GHz Atom N280 processor (instead of Atom N270), that seats right next to a 160GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM, 10.1-inch 1,024 x 600 display, a multi-card reader, WiFi connectivity and all the usual ingredients you probably know. Price tag is already set for Â¥39,800 (about $427), with a shipping date, scheduled for November.

[via impress]

Did you miss RAmos? Well, here it is, live and kickin’ with the new Q25ihi touchscreen player, which makes a debut in Korea these days, boasting a 3.1-inch capacitive display, which means we’re going to see some multi-touch features ahead. Other than that, the new PMP packs a G-Sensor for landscape view, a built-in FM tuner radio, wide formats support (audio/video) and finally, myriad range of storage capacities at your choice, starting from 1GB and climbing up to 16GB. Still no word about pricing but Korean retailers should already have it on their shelves under RAmos’ MuMu Music moniker.

[Via iTech News Net]

Care for yet another tablet pc to run your stuff? Looks like Sinchun Electronics might have something for you, as the Chinese company has just released the 5-inch UMPC-501 A tablet, which apparently boasts a Z510 Intel Atom processor, with a cool removable battery inside and 800 x 480 touchscreen display, placed beneath a 6.3 x 3.75 x .87 inches frame which practically weighs around 350g. Next, we have the SiRF Star III GPS navigation antenna, that seats right next to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections (3G HSPA is optional), with 1G of RAM on the board and storage capacity which gets up to 32GB SSD at your choice. Windows XP Home is expected to operate the entire system when this MID comes up this month for 3000 Yuan ($440).

[Via SlashGear]