Samsung announces 8MP camera touch phones

Samsung has secretly announced the Samsung i8510 INNOV8’s successor — the M8800, dubbed as Pixon, code-named Brensson. The Samsung M8800 is a touchscreen phone that will compete directly with the LG KC910

The Samsung Pixon comes with an 8 megapixel camera that features auto focus, face recognition, Wide Dynamic Range, Advanced Shake Reduction, GPS geo-tagging support, WVGA (720×480 pixels) and VGA (640 x 480 pixels) video recording at 30 FPS. The handset supports HSDPA high-speed data and it also features a microSD expandable memory, handwriting recognition, ShoZu integration for one click image and video upload, and a battery that provides up to 7 hours of talktime and 16 days standby time.

Nintendo adding camera to new DS

Nintendo will release a new DS model in Japan before the end of the year.

The new version will will include larger screens, a built-in camera, music playback capabilities and improved Wi-Fi support, and will be compatible with SD cards.

Hackers Attempt to Infect PCs with “Free Antivirus” offer

Sophos issued a statement warning internet users of downloading fake anti-virus products, following the discovery of a malicious Trojan horse that is posing as a free copy of Norton AntiVirus 2008.

According to the IT security company, Google adverts are being presented to internet users who search for “free antivirus”, leading them to a professional-looking website that claims to offer an anti-virus product for download.

The website attempts to lure visiting computer users into installing a Trojan horse, Troj/FakeAV-AD, which will then present fake security alerts and urge users to purchase a “full version” of the software.

Transmeta up for sale

Transmeta Corp.said that it is up for sale and has separately entered into two agreements with Intel Corp. Transmeta expects to receive cash payments from Intel totaling $91.5 million.

The first agreement is a non-exclusive technology licensing agreement that provides for Transmeta to deliver a copy of certain proprietary Transmeta computing technologies to Intel.

The second agreement is an amendment to the previously announced settlement, release and license agreement that Transmeta and Intel entered into on Dec. 31, 2007.

Toshiba to offer 256GB Solid State Drive soon

Toshiba has announced that they would soon start offering a 256GB solid state drive.

The company said that the drive would fit within a 2.5-inch form factor. It would also include a SATA 3-Mbit interface.

This drive would be targeted at UMPCs and laptops.

Nokia to unveil the ‘Tube’ touch-screen iPhone rival

Nokia is set to unveil its first touch-screen phone – code-named “Tube” in a direct challenge to Apple’s iPhone.

The Nokia Tube (5800 ExpressMusic) will be on Symbian S60 Taco 5.0 operating system. It will also include support for the DVB-H mobile TV standard and mobile video.

The phone measures 111 x 52 x 15,5 mm, it has a 640×360 touch screen, GPS, Wi-Fi and an 8GB SD card for music, and will integrate Wi-Fi or HSDPA connectivity.

Apple Sells Unlocked iPhone 3G in Hong Kong

Apple has made an unlocked version of the iPhone 3G available from its own stores.

The 8GB version is available for HK$5,500 (about $694), while the 16 gigs iPhone costs HK$6,200 (about $797).

The activation process is easy – simply insert the SIM from your current phone into iPhone 3G and connect to iTunes 8 to complete activation.

Read my CNET article about this development.