Two new laptops are heading our way, courtesy of Dell. The A860 and the A840 are the two new additions to Dell’s Vostro series. Physically, these two models look the same. It is only when you look closely when you’ll see that the A860 has bigger screen with 15.6-inch HD LCD while the A840 only sports 14.1-inch WXGA LCD. Both of these screens have anti-glare screens for better viewing. These laptops can be installed with either Vista or Ubuntu because they run on Celeron to Core 2 Duo processors.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe announced the coming launch of the latest version of the PlayStation Portable or PSP. The PSP-3000 could be the latest craze among gamers because of the great features it bears. Gamers can have a more enjoyable time using the PSP-3000 due to its enriched LCD screen that provides better image quality. With the built-in microphone, users will find it easy to communicate online, even for in-game chats. Aside from those goodies, Sony will also offer bundles to go with the device like the Go! Communications bundle and lots of games bundles.

Make way for Nokia N96 North American Edition, N85, and N79 – three new handsets that are equipped with superb capabilities. The N96 NAM is of a dual-slider design with a kickstand at the back. It comes with an amazing 16GB internal memory and microSD expansion slot if the user requires more storage for lots of videos and pictures. Taking photos and videos is ideal with the 5-megapixel camera and dual-LED flash. This smartphone also comes with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and A-GPS. Music buffs will love this device since it has an integrated music player, stereo FM radio with RDS as well as 3.5mm headphone jack. The N96 is somewhat costly with the price tag around $750 to $800.

Now, the N85 is a phone with slider design. One of the physical features to catch the eye is the 26-inch OLED screen that’s capable of displaying bright and deep colors. It is equipped with a 5-megapixel camera that uses two-LED flash which is ideal for taking videos. If the user likes gaming on handsets, the N85 will caters to that need because it comes preloaded with 10 N-Gage games. Other features include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0 and 3G. Estimated price is around $600 to $650.

Canon launched a new camera that will make photographers want to replace their cameras with it. The new Canon EOS 50D SLR is aimed for professional photographers. It is priced accordingly as well at $1,399. Looking at its capabilities you will understand why professionals can grow to love this new Canon camera. Among the new cameras launched by Canon, EOS 50D is the first to sport the newly invented DIGIC 4 image processor. This feature enables the camera to capture images at a faster rate and with lower noise level. This new model is also fully compatible with a flash memory card UDMA CF. Better performance can be experienced because of the enhanced ISO range of up to 12800 and built-in photo editing capabilities. This also goes for the Creative Auto Mode (CA) for easy adjustments of images.

If I recall correctly, Nokia released two cell phone models under the XpressMusic line. Looks like, Nokia is ready to add another music centered handset for its range of musically inclined customers. The latest addition to the line is the Nokia 5610 XpressMusic handset. T-Mobile announced that this particular handset is available in the network starting on August 10. As a dedicated music device, the Nokia 5610 is equipped with a media player, music slider key, A2DP stereo Bluetooth and FM radio. This is compatible a variety of formats namely AAC, eAAC+, MP3 and WMA. This slider handset has a radiant 2.2-inch QVGA display.

Sony Ericsson unleashed another great-looking handset. Just love the new Sony Ericsson T700 phone. This great communication device will definitely be a head-turner in your hand. If ever I think of getting a new phone, The T700 will be the perfect replacement. This slim and compact device puts together a streamlined design as well as superb capabilities. Elegance is truly displayed in its shiny silver case. It has a 3.2-megapixel camera for snapping life-like images that you can easily share with your friends. And if you want to have your music with you at all times, the T700 will make that possible. It has high-quality stereo speakers and color-matched headphones. You can navigate through its commands through the 2-inch display.

Asus shows great concern about your health when it produced the Vit W1 wireless mouse. For sure the first thing to come to your mind is how can this teeny device have anything to do with the status of my health? This seemingly unassuming mouse is capable of monitoring your heart rate whenever you use your computer. Keeping track of your heart rate is achieved through the pulse rate sensor inside the Vit W1 mouse. This sensor collects information and transmits it to the computer. Pre-installed software that works with the mouse is required for the proper interpretation of the collected data. A corresponding emoticon will be displayed onscreen whether you need medical attention or not.

Motorola finally finds time to come up with new handsets. In fact the company launched three of them in the ROKR series – MOTOROKR EM30, EM28 and EM25. Getting to know each of them would be a good thing in case you have plans of replacing the handset that you have now. The Rokr EM25 is the handset with a sliding design. It features built-in FM radio, dedicated music keys, WAP 2.0 browser and expandable memory. And no, it does not have a camera. Now, the Rokr Em28 on the other hand is a clamshell handset with 1.3-megapixel camera. It functions as a great music device because of its 3-D sound effects.

Three new nigh-definition camcorders under the VIXIA line have been announced by Canon. These are the VIXIA HF11, VIXIA HG21 and the VIXIA HG20. So, what makes these new camcorders special? When you buy them you also get the Pixela ImageMixer 3SE video editing software with Blu-Ray disk burning support. They also have more storage capacity and high-definition image quality for excellent video recordings. High-definition videos are possible through the 24Mbps bit rate recording ability. HD CMOS Image Sensor, DIGIC DV II Image Processor, Instant Autofocus and SuperRange Optical Image Stabilization are some of the other goodies found in these three new VIXIA camcorders. These are the common features of the three new camcorders.

A $12 computer?! Is that really possible? We just have to wait and see if the outcome of M.I.T.’s efforts will really be that affordable. Derek Lomas and his associates at M.I.T. are working on this initiative to enable Third World residents to buy a computer for their personal use. Massachusetts Institute of Technology is becoming known for its charitable works. You’ll remember that it is also the same university that initiated the One Laptop Per Child program. The computers that they are working on are based on the Apple II. This idea came about when Lomas came across the unused computers in Bangalore last summer while on an internship stint.

Finally, I get to read something about Friendster. This is the only social networking site where I have an active account. Friendster is the site that is very popular in Asia Pacific and its still growing. Maybe its reach will grow even further as Richard Kimber takes his position as the new CEO and a member of the board of directors. Richard Kimber is Google’s former regional managing director of South Asia. In a statement he made, Kimber seems to be really looking forward to the challenge of improving Friendster’s operations even more.

In the whole time that I’ve been writing about phones, it is only now that I’ve come across a wooden phone! Yes, a phone made of wood! Perhaps this is brought about by the fact that there is already PCs being made of wood and bamboo, so why not apply it to cell phones as well? This could have been the reasons of the designers Hyun Jin Yoon and Eun Hak Lee when they made the Maple Phone. If you were not informed that this wooden device is actually a phone, you’d assume that it is just a block of useless wood. But for wooden handset, Maple Phone is equipped with the capabilities you could ever need in a handset. It functions as an MP3 player, has a digital camera for snapping images on the spot and most importantly it provides texting and calling capabilities.

Need a little more color in your life? You can do that by using more colorful gadgets. You know you can always replace your handset with the more colorful Blackberry Curve 8320. Bearing a sunset red color will surely make this handset stand out from the rest. I think the days where black, gold and silver colored handsets predominate are over now. More and more people want bold-colored cell phones that will get easily noticed. Well, the sunset red Blackberry Curve 8320 certainly does that. And it does not merely boast good looks; it is also installed with the features that you require in a communication device.

Lenovo is the latest computer maker to join in the production of netbooks or ultrasmall laptops. The result in this endeavor is the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 netbook PC. Netbooks are aimed for professionals and students who want internet access while on the go. Now, the IdeaPad S10 is certainly that because it features a 10.2-inch screen, 2 USB ports, four-in-one multicard reader and an Express Card slot. It is powered by Intel’s Atom processor and Windows XP operating system.