The TX-SR608 receiver will be available in April for $599, just in time for pairing with a Panasonic or Samsung 3DTV, and with a whopping six HDMI inputs it’s very well-specced for its price.

All six HDMI 1.4 inputs are capable of passing 3D video, and upscale to 1080p if needed—with one of the inputs handily located on the front. All HD audio formats are able to be decoded, and it uses 192kHz/24-bit Burr-Brown DACs. Dual subwoofer outputs and 7 x 100W output is a definite upgrade over the previous TX-SR607 model, which had just 90 watts per channel.

Both Onkyo’s UP-DPT1 DAB/DAB+ peripheral and UP-A1 iPod Dock are compatible with the receiver, which can also manage an analog RGB input for connecting to PCs. The Onkyo TX-SR608 will cost $599 when it hits next month, but take a look at the press release below for the full line-up of products. [Onkyo]

Onkyo USA has announced March deliveries of its first 3D-Ready home theater receivers and home theater in a box (HTiB) systems. The new models consist of three A/V receivers and three HTiB systems ranging in price from $299 to $599, and all of them support the new HDMI v1.4 connectivity standard for new 3D video displays and Audio Return Channel capabilities. All are exceptionally well equipped to provide a superior music, home theater sound and video experience, with high build-quality and offering excellent value.

For Onkyo, a name that translates roughly to ‘sound harmony’ in Japanese, sound quality is preeminent. All these new receivers and HTiBs now decode lossless Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio bitstreams, and include new 192-kHz/24-bit Burr-Brown PCM1690 DAC’s that are highly resistant to clock jitter and provide a remarkable 113-dB dynamic range. The lineup includes Onkyo’s new easy-to-setup overlaid onscreen graphical display that lets the user watch the program in the background while using the function menus. Additionally, all 2010 HDMI v1.4 models include a new feature call HDMI Thru. HDMI Thru allows content to pass through to the TV when the receiver is in a standby state.

The new TX-SR608 7.2-channel THX-Select2 Plus certified receiver has new power amplifier section that uses three-stage inverted Darlington output topology, and a power boost from 90 to 100 watts. Audyssey DSX dimensional sound processing has been added to its predecessor’s Dolby PLIIz capabilities. Additionally, all video sources, including those using the new PC input, and regardless of source resolution, can be upscaled to big and beautiful 1080p via HDMI and Faroudja DCDi Cinema™. The TX-SR608 will also include a front HDMI input, a feature first introduced by Onkyo in 2009. The TX-SR608 will be available in April at an MSRP of $599.

The 5.1-channel TX-SR308 and 7.1-channel TX-SR508 round out this initial announcement of A/V Receivers from Onkyo. The TX-SR308 will be available in March with an MSRP of $299, a followed by the TX-SR508 in April for $399.

The HTiB package systems, which each consist of a receiver, speakers and a subwoofer, are the 5.1-channel HT-S3300 and 7.1-channel HT-S5300; the latter also includes an iPod dock. Thanks to the HDMI interface and the use of advanced Dolby and DTS codecs, all of these receivers and systems are also capable of decoding lossless Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. The HT-S3300 will ship in March with an MSRP of $379, followed by the HT-S5300 in April for $599.

A third packaged system departs from the traditional HTiB form factor and uses a combination subwoofer and 3D Ready A/V receiver plus two front speakers. It uses Onkyo’s own Theater-Dimensional processor to create an immersive and convincing surround effect through just 2.1 channels. The HTX-22HDX has three HDMI v1.4 inputs, handles HD audio formats from DTS and Dolby; offers four distinct audio modes for gaming; and outputs for additional speakers. The HTX-22HDX will ship in May with a $349 MSRP.

“Onkyo’s 2010 entry-level product line represents a significant jump over last year’s line,” said Paul Wasek, Onkyo USA’s marketing manager. “We are excited to deliver this first wave of 3D capable products. By upgrading to 1.4, even on the least expensive HTiB, we have eliminated all HDMI pass-through products and allowed HD audio formats to be used across the line. The fact that consumers can now buy a THX-Certified receiver with 1080p upscaling, Burr-Brown DACs, PC input and more for under $600 shows Onkyo’s clear commitment to delivering performance and value to consumers.”

All of Onkyo’s receivers offer exceptional connectivity options with as many as six HDMI inputs, plus component and composite video, numerous stereo input jacks, optical/coaxial digital inputs, and the popular front-panel connections on many models. Two models include Sirius Radio connections, and all these receivers incorporate Onkyo’s proprietary Universal Port (U-Port) connector which simplifies connections to optional HD Radio tuners and iPod Docks (included with the HT-S5300).

Both Samsung and Panasonic will be flogging 3DTVs in the US by the end of the month, but don’t expect to see anything from Sony until June at least. Details on the LX900, HX900 and HX800 do sound tantalizing however.

Japan will start selling the sets on June 10th, with the rest of the world expected to follow suit sometime soon after. Already Sony’s making the bold claim that they’ll be much cheaper than Panasonic’s 3DTV sets—in Japan, anyway. Then again…if you really care about price, you probably are passing on 3D to begin with.

Akihabara News attended the press launch of of the LX900, HX900 and HX800 3D sets in Japan, which are all of the “monolithic” design, and came back blushing with the news that the LX900 series is the one to aim for. It’ll be comprised of four models, all with the Intelligent People Sensors, which adjusts the sound and brightness depending on where people are sitting. It builds on the VE5 TVs launched last year, which could detect when you leave the room, so the TV turns off automatically.

The LX900 will be available in 40, 46, 52 and 60-inch LED-backlit options, will have inbuilt wireless LAN, and include two sets of 3D active shutter glasses (which will be available in grey, blue and pink options). The 46-inch size will reportedly cost 350,000 Yen—about $3,900.

Only 46 and 52-inch options will be available for the HX900 series, which will be LED-backlit, and feature Intelligent MPEG noise reduction. Less attractive, the HX800 eschew the Intelligent People Sensors and MPEG noise reduction, and come in just 40 and 46-inch sizes.

Now, as you will have read, these are all LED-backlit LCD panels, refreshing at no more than 3ms, whereas plasmas are better suited to showing 3D because of their smoother and faster images. [Akihabara News via Reuters]

Yesterday’s bootleg just wasn’t enough for me. I’ve been trawling the net trying to find an official HD trailer, and got very lucky today thanks to First Showing and their code-cracking people, who deciphered a viral site and found the goods.

If you want to download the trailer, mosey on over here.

Just nine months and eight days to go! [First Showing via Den Of Geek]

With HTC’s upcoming crop of Androids, you’ll be able to separate people into two distinct groups: those who spring for the brainier, better-specced Desire, and those who get bowled over by the beautiful, yet lesser-specced Legend.

The Desire (or Nexus One) is the final word in the Androidsphere—it’s a mark of someone who knows what they’re doing, who wants to show people they NEED that extra computing power. If you compare it to the Legend, you could be justified in saying Legend-salivators are more shallow, ignoring the might of a Snapdragon processor in lieu of a unibody aluminum shell and slim build.

You’d be wrong, however.

I Mean, It Is Just a Sequel

The internal upgrades are minor, when you consider it next to the HTC Hero, but like the Empire Strikes Back, sometimes sequels are far better than the original. While we found the Hero “tragically flawed” in its slugginess, the Legend’s slightly more powerful 600MHz processor behaved—well, like a legend. The 3.2-inch screen has the same amount of pixels as the Hero, but swaps the HVGA for a more superior AMOLED. The 5.0-megapixel camera is still the same quality, but has the much-welcomed addition of a flash. You get the picture—the Legend is building on the Hero’s quality in incremental upgrades, but every change, however minor, radicalizes the experience of using the Legend.

It’s running Android 2.1, which as any Hero owner knows should be released as an over-the-air update soon. One day. The jump from 1.6 to 2.1 is impressive—it’s a lot faster, the multitouch is better, there’s greater integration of social networking profiles with contacts, and HTML5 support, amongst other—admittedly small—changes.

Design Works

Plain and simple—the Legend is the most well-built phone I’ve ever had in my hand. You just know when you feel the weight of it, the cool curved exterior of the unibody aluminum shell, and touch the ultra-responsive touchscreen. It’s that sensation when you first tenderly held the original iPhone, which has been long-missing in the market.

The bottom and top of the back is actually made from rubberized plastic though, so there are no issues with wireless signals—unlike the first generation of the iPhone. Removing part of the case reveals a very thin battery and a touch-sensitive catch which keeps the SIM and microSD cards encased. It’s a small point, but it’s also the most polished example of a phone’s innards that I’ve ever seen.

Just like BlackBerry, HTC is migrating its trackballs to optical trackpads. This is a relief, but in actual fact I barely had to use the trackpad—only when having to make an edit when typing out messages or emails. The screen is just so responsive, with nary a wrongly-actioned command made, that you can imagine HTC forgoing the trackpad altogether at a later date.

Only eight buttons reside on the Legend’s body. The on/off button up top, the two volume controls on the top left, and then on the lower face, home, menu, back and search. They all worked well, though the home, menu, back and search keys did feel a bit cheap in comparison to the high-end feeling of the rest of the handset.

Same Old Camera?

HTC’s used the same 5.0-megapixel camera as we saw on the Hero, but the addition of a flash is a new and exciting step for them—strange as that sounds. As you can see from the two photos below, the flash is very strong—too strong, I’d say. However, the quality is decent in lowlight conditions—noisy for sure, but I’ve seen worse.

My friends in lowlight at a cinema before Alice In Wonderland 3D

In daytime I had a lot more luck. Testing it out on some cakes in my kitchen in the late afternoon sun retained the nice rays of sun across the cakes, with the yellow of the flowers showing up bright. But even at 5MP, the general image performance isn’t enough to ditch your point and shoot just yet.

Testing indoors with daylight

More Sense Than HTC Sense

Most manufacturers are skinning Android with their own proprietary interfaces…MOTOBLUR, Mediascape, S-Class, they’re ok, but I’d almost rather use Android in its natural flavor than have to put up with some of their issues.

There just ain’t no Android phone like a HTC Sense Android phone. It’s simply the best skin an Android could ask for, even without the minor improvements seen in the Legend. By far the pick of the bunch is the new “Leap” view—or “Helicopter view” as it was known in-house when designed. It works much like Mac OS X’s Exposé function, bringing all seven homescreens up as thumbnails. The feature is very useful, particularly if you just can’t remember which screen your mail, or the weather widget, is listed on. The pinch command takes some getting used to, but once you’ve got the gesture down-pat, it’s a godsend.

Leap—or helicopter—view

But with ever feature that will be used often comes one with no point at all. FriendStream is a nice enough widget, which collates all your friends’ updates from Twitter, Facebook and Flickr into one feed, but for anyone who’s a purist and likes to see every form of update on each social networking site, it will be removed quickly from the homescreen. I preferred using HTC’s own brilliant Twitter widget, Peep, for the full Twitter options, and the Facebook app to see every form of action. The Flickr integration is handy, being able to see when my contacts upload photos, but not necessary if you get email notifications already.

Plus, FriendStream just felt slow sometimes—in fact, on a very speedy phone, it felt incongruous in comparison to everything else, often updating with tweets quite a few minutes later than the Twitter widget did. It’s not a big problem, but for someone who relies on Twitter heavily as a source of entertainment, it became a source of frustration.

FriendStream

Respectable Battery Life

The Legend ran 36 hours before it died on me. Not too bad, considering I had an hour-long call plus about five shorter ones, sent and received around 20 text messages, and spent almost a whole day browsing the web, checking Twitter, and showing it off to my friends. After the horror of seeing my G1’s battery deplete in half a day when I first bought it, the Legend’s 1300mAh battery ran to my satisfaction.

The Legend Is The Most Solid Android Phone I’ve Used

True, other phones may be better specced, but with that premium build it’s like comparing a Sony Vaio (not a bad laptop, sure) to a MacBook. Sometimes there’s just no contest. While the extra horsepower and added touches of the Nexus One and Desire are nice, I found the Legend more than satisfactory.

It wasn’t sluggish, certainly didn’t have bugs or issues like the G1 and Hero, and while it’ll inevitably slow down and have you cursing the fact you didn’t spring for something with a Snapdragon chip, I’m going to award it possibly the highest accolade a reviewer can gift a device: I’m going to upgrade to one.

It’s not the best Android phone. That badge still belongs to the Nexus One, or possibly the Desire, when we review it. But it’s one of the best all-rounders, when you consider the hardware—and the feeling you’re left with once it leaves your hand. I feel bereft without it.

Superb hardware quality

HTC Sense is better than ever

Addition of camera flash

Super-fast and responsive

FriendStream could be faster


Camera flash isn’t perfect

The HTC Legend hasn’t been announced for the US market yet, with the European launch sometime this month.

A new war will be breaking out on the App Store—Street Fighter IV vs. Tekken. Namco’s confirmed Tekken will be available soon for thumb-twiddling iPhone users, though the details remain as scarce as Ling Xiaoyu’s costume. [Fonehome]

It’s a bit pointless, because surely your TV can recognize if there’s a 3D Blu-ray in the player, or the TV show you’ve selected is being broadcast in 3D, but Italian company Sisvel’s device syncs glasses to the TV.

It will detect if active or passive glasses are being used, with Sisvel’s Dario Pennisi explaining their technology is “similar to the one used on the Wii remote,” and will be licensed to TV manufacturers one day:

“For active glasses, given the already high cost of the glasses and [that] these already contain a battery and some electronics, our solution comprises a capacitive sensor that ‘feels’ the head of the viewer and uses this information to send infrared commands to the TV, hence the additional cost of this solution if basically zero.

“For passive glasses, the TVs have to be equipped with a camera that looks at the viewers and has some special electronics to recognize if they are wearing glasses and can differentiate between ordinary glasses and polarized glasses for stereoscopic viewing.”

It’s an unknown company with a lofty goal, to get their technology used by big 3D TV manufacturers. But I can’t get past the fact that it shouldn’t be necessary to include another step in the process when switching on the TV and sliding on the glasses. [Sisvel via Gizmag]

While PlayStation still hasn’t confirmed whether its motion controller will be called the Arc, the rumor mill has gone one step further this week with a forum-poster claiming it’ll work alongside a Wii-like nunchuk.

GDC is kicking off over in San Francisco this week, so if ever there was a venue to announce a new add-on—or even confirmation of the name—that would be it.

The forum-poster at NeoGAF, by the name of Ichinisan, reckons the pictures he saw of the nunchuk included an analog stick, plus X and O buttons, along with L1 and L2 buttons under the D-Pad. The wand-shaped Arc meanwhile apparently has “one very big button on top” (no word if s/he meant the big glowing globe, or something else), and X, O, triangle and square buttons. The trigger is the ‘T’ command, according to this mysterious poster—who could very well be full of shit, as he’s just a junior member of the forums. He does comment that “it’s actually long, not like the Wii Nunchuk”—which measures 22.9 x 17.8 x 5.7cm. [NeoGAF via VG247 via TechRadar]

You’d be able to conceive and give birth to a baby faster than the Tron Legacy takes to come out (just nine months and nine days left!), but here’s a trailer to sate you for a while longer.

You won’t be able to make much out in the leaked video, but hey—there’s audio! Here’s the official synopsis, if you missed it last time:

TRON: LEGACY is a 3D high-tech adventure set in a digital world that’s unlike anything ever captured on the big screen. Sam Flynn (GARRETT HEDLUND), the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn (JEFF BRIDGES), looks into his father’s disappearance and finds himself pulled into the digital world of Tron where his father has been living for 25 years. Along with Kevin’s loyal confidant Quorra (OLIVIA WILDE), father and son embark on a life-and-death journey of escape across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerous.

How about someone at Disney, still high off their “Up” win at the Oscars yesterday, press the button and make the official trailer appear on YouTube? Anyone? [Giant Freakin Robot via Digg]

Hide wires, powerboards, your prized mini-figs—heck, even the droids the stormtroopers are still looking for, all in this tidy flatpacked AT-AT model from China.

The company sends you all the materials needed to construct the AT-AT, but can’t promise protection from the rebel snowspeeders lurking nearby. It costs 55 Yuan, which is only $8, but that doesn’t include postage obviously. [GeekCook via WalYou]

Sure, it has a ridiculous name, but on paper the Bloggie’s got it all—1080p video capture, the ability to switch resolutions and frame rate, plus a lens attachment that lets you record 360-degree videos. Bells and whistles galore.

Sony thought adding all these bells and whistles would make a difference. They were—as ever—running late to the pocket-camcorder race, but thought strapping on featured-laden running shoes would help it take on its rivals.

Unfortunately, Sony was racing against the Flip Ultra HD (our favorite pocket camcorder) – a much smaller kid sure, but he’d been around the block many times before and was very streamlined. While it couldn’t do jumps and flips like the Sony—nor did it have special running shoes— the Flip was unmistakably on top of his game thanks to a single red button in the middle of his chest which starts the action up quickly and easily.

The Details

And so, like the late-comer Sony in our story, the tardy Sony Bloggie joins last year’s Webbie model in the Japanese giant’s quest to take on the Flip. There are three Bloggie models available, with the MHS-PM5, MHS-PM5K, and MHD-CM5 all shooting in 1080p. The CM5 has an optical zoom and flip-out LCD screen, and the only feature that separates the PM5 from the PM5K is the latter’s lens attachment which offers 360-degree filming. This is the model I tested, which costs $180.

Flip’s pavement-pounder is the Ultra HD, which while only shooting in 720p at 30fps, demands so few choices to be made that it’s a big seller for the market-creating company. It’s the easiest device to use, with the only options being to turn on/off, start/stop recording, and zoom in/out.

Sony’s Bloggie has a bewildering choice of features, which will end up being a problem if they want to appeal to anyone other than those who actually know what different resolutions are. It shoots in 1080p at 30fps, 720p at either 60fps or 30fps, and VGA. There are a few limitations with shooting in 1080p though—you can’t use the zoom, there’s no image stabilization, and you can’t use the 360 degree lens attachment with it.

Design

The Bloggie is very “Sony” in style. That means a glossy black finish and cheap parts that I can see breaking down very quickly, like the door that covers the AV output and protruding USB stick.

At 2.4-inches, the 4:3 LCD screen is one of the worst displays I’ve encountered, with a poor off-axis viewing angle, meaning you have to be facing it straight-on to actually see the footage at its best. It’s also got a softer surface than desired—as you can see from some of the photos, it’s covered with a few scratches from just a week’s use.

To record a video, the button is located on the top right side—and admittedly, when I first turned it on I tried pressing the middle button, which just brings up the menu. You can’t stop recording video without jerking the camcorder trying to get to the button, which means you’ll have to edit every single video if you want something smooth.

360-Degree Lens Attachment

The main draw to this camcorder over other similar makes is the lens options. The inbuilt lens can be turned around in 270 degrees angles, great for self-filmers. The second way involves clamping another lens on top, which then shoots video in 360 degrees. It’s very fun to play with, especially if you put it on a sofa and leap around the room like I did, but I just can’t imagine putting the extra part in my bag and wanting to pull it out and use it. It’d be lost in the draw, forgotten for months. You can see my efforts with this attachment just below, where I jump about like a heavy-footed fairy at a Talking Heads concert. How embarrassing.

Motion

To test how both camcorders handled shooting something in motion, I strapped on my running shoes and ran on my gym’s treadmill. It was so well-lit inside that both camcorders produced satisfactory results, but the Bloggie’s wasn’t quite as smooth as the Flip’s was. This is interesting, as the Bloggie was filmed at 60fps, double what the Flip can handle. You can see some jaggies on my legs as I jog—the edges are smooth, but look jagged. A touch of motion blur wouldn’t be obvious to the untrained eye, but I was a lot happier with what the Flip managed to produce.

Sony Bloggie: Motion at 720p and 60fps.

Flip Ultra HD: Motion at 720p and 30fps.

Outdoors

The park was a perfect opportunity to see how the Bloggie performed in natural light, on a sunny (yet overcast) day. There was some wind, which the Bloggie picked up more than the Flip (which actually captured a bit of birdsong at one stage), but altogether the Flip managed to convey the colors a lot better than the Bloggie did.

As you can see from the video I shot with the Bloggie, the colors are just too washed out, it’s like everything has been dampened with paleness. It was a sunny day, but at one point in the footage you can see it jumps to let even more light into the lens—which wasn’t necessary. The Flip, while slightly skewing the colors so the green grass and red buses were more fluroscent than in real life, had a much healthier portrayal of colors and light.

Other tests outdoors showed individual blades of grass being made out on the Flip, whereas the Bloggie couldn’t distinguish any—even when filmed at 1080p and played back on my 42-inch TV.

Sony Bloggie: Outdoors at 1080p and 30fps.

Flip Ultra HD: Outdoors at 720p and 30fps.

Macro

Both camcorders have digital zooms, but there’s a major difference between the two: you can actually use the Flip’s zoom. I didn’t end up including video proof showing how bad the Bloggie’s zoom actually is, but once you zoom half-way in (it’s a 4x zoom), the amount of visual noise it produces is mind-blowing. It’s like static on your TV. This occurred even outdoors, when shooting flowers at close-range.

Neither camcorder can handle the closest flowers well, which were 2-inches from the lens (without zoom activated). Focus was off, with the Flip only adjusting when it panned to the second layer of flowers, which were about 4-inches away. It’s only until the Bloggie sees the third layer of flowers that it begins to focus—which would’ve been a good 6 – 8 inches from the lens. It’s not that much of an issue when you’re filming flowers, true—but imagine if this was the next iPhone that I was filming, and you couldn’t even make out the icons?

Sony Bloggie: Macro, 1080p at 30fps.

Flip Ultra HD: Macro, 720p at 30fps.

Low-light

Seen in the two videos here are not only my friends trying to act “natural” when two camcorders are shoved in their faces after a few drinks in the pub, but also—in the Bloggie’s case—a heck of a lot of noise. I’m talking visual noise, because in terms of audio it’s spot on—really clear, and able to pick up a lot more than the Flip can (though that also means more background noise, too).

Our corner of the pub was lit by two lamps, so it was pretty dark, but at 1080p on the Bloggie it coped well. Not as well as the Flip did though, which impressed me more with its lack of noise.

Sony Bloggie: Low-light 1080p and 30fps.

Flip Ultra HD: Low-light 720p and 30fps.

Color

On a rain-soaked afternoon in my corner of London, I ventured out to the busiest intersection near me and filmed double decker buses careening around the roadworks-bespeckled corner. With the gray haze of rain, the Bloggie’s trademark of dampening the colors down really didn’t make for good footage. The Flip meanwhile, while heightening the colors so everything is ultra-vivid, made the video a lot nicer to play back. The red of the double decker buses may be skewed, but at least they actually look RED, unlike the Bloggie’s disappointing paleness.

Sony Bloggie: Color, 1080p and 30fps.

Flip Ultra HD: Color, 720p and 30fps.

Battery life

It’s been a bit hard to judge the battery lives of both camcorders, as after each test I’ve been plugging them straight into my MacBook (yes, they’re both OS X and Windows compatible), which automatically charges them. The Bloggie is showing a full battery life, and I’ve used it in total about three hours over the past week—charging it here and there, for about five minutes at a time. The Flip’s got a quoted battery life of two hours, and hasn’t held its juice as well as the Bloggie, which has a removable battery—a definite bonus in my book.

Connectivity

A HDMI output would’ve been nice on the Bloggie, but it compensates with the Memory Stick PRO Duo / SD/SDHC card slot. I stuck the memory stick in my PS3 and watched all my videos back within seconds on the TV. As both camcorders have built-in USB arms I could connect the Flip to the PS3 too, but having the memory card slot is a nice touch. It also means you can store more on the Bloggie than the Flip, which only has an 8GB capacity.

Results

Sony was late to the pocket camcorder race, and while they stuffed the Bloggie with a extraordinary amount of features, it just feels bloated. The old adage of quality over quantity definitely rings true when holding both the Ultra HD and Bloggie in your hands, with the Flip’s cut-down, simplistic ease of use winning me over. The ability to switch resolutions and play with the different lenses was nice, but it does say something when you prefer the 720p video over the footage shot with a 1080p camcorder.

It really saddens me saying this, as I was convinced upon opening the Bloggie’s box that I’d be so enamored with it I’d rush out and buy one after writing the review. Instead, I’m joining the flock of supporters embracing the Flip Ultra HD at the winner’s podium.

Dual memory card reader

Great battery life

Ability to switch resolutions easily

Natural Colors

Video often too dark, with motion blur and noise


Too much background noise picked up


Flimsy build with awkward placement of record button


Zoom isn’t worth using

HTC may think the Nexus One shouldn’t go in pockets, but WTFJeans has enough pockets for every gadget you own. Except your laptop. Or your fax machine.

Of course, regular jeans with regular pockets haven’t yet been proven to be deficient in carrying either USB sticks or iWhatevers, but these do have a catch. iPhones and iPod Touches can be safely contained in the micro-fiber insulated pocket, which has been measured and cut just right so it doesn’t move about, bumping up against your set of keys like it’s a buxom girl at an R&B night. There’s also a special hidden pocket for a USB stick—though as I usually carry around at least five in my handbag, along with a micro and miniUSB cable, I think I’d need a few more pockets added.

Both men and women are catered for by WTFJeans, and they’ll be on sale the 2nd of May for 59 Euros, or $80 dollars. [WTFJeans via Recombu via Mashable]

Ask any gambler, and they’ll say there’s no point in playing unless there’s money to be made. Winning points—it’s fun, but child’s play. Vacuum is billing itself as being the first Android game to offer cash prizes.

It was a finalist in the Android Developer Challenge, finishing in the top 20 for arcade and action games, but under a different name. It’s essentially a racing game in a never-ending tunnel (sounds like most of my bad dreams, if I’m honest), but if you do well, there’s a chance you can win some actual money from the developers.

They haven’t said exactly how much will be on the table, but the first competition will start on April the 1st (maybe it’s all a big April Fool’s joke?), with the app hitting the Market on March 20th so you’ve got a few days of practice up your sleeve. [Door-6 via AndroidandMe]

The story goes that Panasonic leaked the upcoming G2 and G10 micro four thirds cameras, which 4/3 Rumors quickly screengrabbed. However, Panasonic has got in touch with them to say the specs are incorrect. Oh, what to think?

So, we can give you a brief run-through of the supposed specs, or…you can wait and see these two cameras get official. That doesn’t tempt you? No? You still want to hear the specs, even if they might not be true? You’re keen.

Ok, according to the leaked product info Panasonic put on its very own site, both the G2 and G10 will have 12-megapixel sensors, touchscreen LCDs, an ISO range of 100 – 6,200, with the G2 also capable of recording in AVCHD format at 1280 x 720 and 30fps. Hit up 4/3 Rumors for the full story, but don’t blame us if the G10 has only a 3-megapixel sensor when it’s announced. [4/3 Rumors]

This isn’t a Nexus One celebrating Gay Pride month—it’s CNET Crave UK’s broken Google phone. According to HTC’s technical support, “they don’t go in pockets,” lest the screen gets cracked.

Only thing is, Crave UK swears up and down the Nexus One suffered the damages while charging on a desk—with no tampering by vicious iPhone users recorded. After being recommended by Google to speak to HTC’s technical support, Crave was told that “putting a phone in a tight pair of jeans and sitting down would usually cause the kind of damage,” and that “people sometimes forget that they don’t go in pockets.” Say what?

Here’s the second stinging lash—the cracked screen will cost £180 to fix. That’s $270, or $100 more than the whole phone’s parts cost, according to iSuppli. Yeouch. [Crave UK]

Tokyo Flash watches are outlandish enough as is—so you can imagine how badass their concept design would be. This Hexagonal watch isn’t real, but Tokyo Flash could make it so—with the method of telling the time surprisingly simple.

For Tokyo Flash, at least. The colored LEDS represent hours (in blue), five minute increments (in purple) and individual minutes (in pink). Have a gander at the diagram below and then tell me what time is on the picture above. Friday fun times! [Tokyo Flash via Technabob]

The innovative, if slightly bonkers, enTourage eDGe has been reviewed by Laptop, and as I suspected they had a few issues with the design. They found the half ereader, half netbook too heavy, with the number of options overwhelming.

Part of the lure to a dualbook like the eDGe is that it’s got so many features—but it sounds like enTourage has been too generous here, with Laptop pointing out that “it’s overkill for consumers mainly interested in surfing the Web, or simply reading eBooks.”

There are only 200,000 titles in enTourage’s ebook store, with only around half of them being best-sellers. It does have access to over 1 million of the Google Books, but there are no newspapers or magazines available just yet either.

Ultimately, Laptop seemed pleased with the dualbook, awarding it three out of five stars, but slight issues with the resistive touchscreen, fast-draining battery, and limited app store options made them conclude it’s probably best to wait until the next version—or at least until enTourage has a more polished offering. [Laptop]

Waking up to fresh photos of an unofficial phone is always welcome, but I do wish all these spyshots of the HTC Incredible would be accompanied with a bit of meat. Some bacon for my breakfast, you could say.

It’s already shown up in Verizon Wireless’ inventory system, and we’ve heard a few details on the inner workings of the handset—but as to when it’s expected to go on sale, why don’t you tell me, eh punk? [DevDroid via AndroidCentral]

LG’s first Windows Phone 7 handset, which got shown off recently in the sweaty palm of a Microsoft director at the Engadget Show, will be called the LG Panther. Apparently. We know LG likes silly names, but Panther?

Of course, there’s a more famous Panther in our world—2003’s OS X 10.3, from Apple. The rumored names comes via the UK site Best Mobile Contracts, which we’ve never heard of so can’t vouch for how solid this rumor is—but after Cookie, Viewty, and whatever else they’ve managed to slip past their marketing team, Panther is hardly the least-flattering if indeed that’s what LG names it. [Best Mobile Contracts via WMPowerUser via TechRadar]