Asus Padfone Confirmed For MWC 2012 Launch

Yesterday we heard a rumor hat Asus would be showing of their new smartphone and tablet hybrid device, the Asus Padfone at this years Mobile World Congress which takes place in Barcelona next month.
Now Asus has confirmed that the Padfone will appear at MWC 2012, and sent out invites, which you can see below, featuring the new Asus Padfone.


We are looking forward to seeing the new Asus Padfone, a device which we first heard about early last year, and it is made up of a 4 inch smartphone and a 10.1 inch tablet which are docked together to form one device.

NEC Medias ES N-05D Ultra Thin Android Smartphone Announced In Japan

We have already seen a couple of NEC’s Android smartphones, the company has now unveiled a new one which will go on sale in Japan, the NEC Medias ES N-05D.
The NEC Medias ES N-05D is one of the thinnest Android devices available, measuring just 6.7mm thick at its thickest point, and the handset comes with Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread.

The NEC Medias ES N-05D features a 4.3 inch multi-touch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, and it is powered by a dual core MSM8260 processor and also comes with 1GB of RAM.
Other specifications on the NEC Medias ES N-05D include 4GB of built in storage, Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi, NFC, a digital TV tuner and a microSD card slot.
The NEC Medias ES N-05D is also designed to be waterproof and it comes with connectivity to Casio’s G-Shock GB-6900 watch, it will launch with Japan’s NTT DoCoMo either in February or March.

Apple Motion 5.0.2 Update Rolls Out Adding Improved Speed And Responsiveness

Joining the new update rolled out by Apple today for their Final Cut Pro X video editing software. Apple has also rolled out an update for its Motion  5.0.2 software. Motion 5 provides Final Cut Pro X users with additional tools to tweak and customise video footage, and is available to purchase for $50.
Enabling users to create and edit motion graphics, titling for video production and film production, and 2D and 3D compositing for visual effects. The new update released today is around 1.05GB in size and improves speed and responsiveness of text editing.

When first released the new Motion 5 packages was updated with an interface had been redesigned specifically for Final Cut Pro editors, with a familiar look and feel. Making it easy to switch between the two applications. A new single-window layout puts all the tools you need at your fingertips, and redesigned icons make it easy to identify options at glance.
The new Motion 5 update also brings with it improved overall stability and performance tweaks and is available as a download via the Mac App Store software on Mac OS X Lion.

Nexus S 4G Ice Cream Sandwich ROM Leaked

The leaked Android 4.0 ROM seems to be an official release and has been published on the XDA Developers Forums, and reports it version as 4.0.4. Once installed it was also discovered that the leaked ROM also provided an update to the handsets baseband.

Google started rolling out an update to Ice Cream Sandwich for the GSM version of its Nexus S back in December last year, however an update for the 4G version, has never been announced. The leak of the new ROM reveals that here is an update in the works and could be landing on devices very soon.
First impression of the leaked ROM provide positive feedback with reports of faster WiMAX speeds with the new baseband installed. Jump over to the XDA Forums if you would like to try the leaked ROM out for yourself, with full instructions on how to complete the installation. Enjoy!

TomTom Now Selling GPS Devices at Chevy Dealers across the US

TomTom has announced it is now selling two of its higher-end GPS units at Chevrolet dealerships across the US. This is an odd move considering that Chevrolet offers GPS navigation as a feature on many of its vehicles.


TomTom is offering the VIA 1405 in the VIA 1505 at dealerships around the country to customers who purchase a 2009 or newer Chevy car.  GPS devices also include advanced Lane guidance to help drivers avoid straying from their lane and are ready to use right out of the box.
The GPS units have an integrated mount that attaches to the windshield and can be placed on the dashboard using an optional mounting disk. The 1405 has a 4.3-inch display in the 1505 has a 5.0-inch touchscreen display. Both devices offer spoken street names. There is no indication of the pricing on the GPS units.

Facebook readies to file US$5bn IPO, could grow

Facebook is expected to file to raise US$5bn in a preliminary IPO prospectus on Wednesday morning, which while less than anticipated could be increased to ultimate investor demand, according to sources close to the deal.
The smaller deal size reflects a decision to start with a conservative base before deciding whether to increase.
The social networking site has opted to hire five bookrunners, featuring Morgan Stanley in the coveted lead left role. Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays Capital and JP Morgan round out the initial list of bookrunners on the deal, though the syndicate could also grow, sources indicated.
The filing timetable appears to establish a framework for Facebook to finalise the IPO process by May, pending a smooth registration process with the SEC.
Investment banking sources note the company has been unusually guarded about the process for selecting banks involved in the underwriting syndicate, but Morgan Stanley’s market leading position in Internet IPOs has given it an upper hand in securing the leading role.
Morgan Stanley’s selection implies that Facebook took account of Goldman Sachs’ handling of a private placement last year, though some have also pointed to Facebook’s desire to distance itself from the bank.
With final pricing of Facebook shares unlikely to be settled for at least three months, it is still unclear what valuation the company is targeting on the IPO.
Recent trading in Facebook stock on private exchanges has pointed to a US$80bn-plus valuation.

BlackBerry 10 London Smartphone Leaked

We first saw a picture of a BlackBerry 10 smartphone, the BlackBerry London last November, the photo was of a prototype of the device, and now we have a more up to date one along with some details of the first BlackBerry 10 smartphone.
The photo below was obtained by the guys over at CrackBerry, and as you can see from the photo, this latest design looks different than the prototype we saw last year.

According to CrackBerry the BlackBerry London is expected to launch in the UK, and there are two other BlackBerry 10 devices being developed for the US, the BlackBerry Laguna and the BlackBerry Lisbon, which are apparently headed to AT&T.
There are no actual final specifications on the device, although RIM are apparently testing both TI OMAP5 and Qualcomm chipsets on the device with a dual core 1.5GHz processor.
As soon as we get some more information on the BlackBerry London and other BlackBerry 10 device we will let you guys know, although we suspect we wont see them launch until later in the year.