Retailer HMV in the UK opened at midnight to allow eager gamers to get their hands on the game as soon as possible. HMV has predicted more than 1 million UK sales in the first week, 20% more than previous record holder Grand Theft Auto 4 (GTA4). “We estimate that the game will exceed 1m UK sales in its first week, which would be a new record,” said HMV spokesperson Gennaro Castaldo.

Online shop Amazon said the pre-order sales were 50% higher than GTA4, while Play.com says that in the run up to launch it was getting more than 150 pre-orders per minute. The publishers of Modern Warfare 2, Activision, are cautiously predicting total sales of 3m across the UK whilst some analysts believe it could sell 10m copies globally in the run up to Christmas.

Tony Bartel, executive vice president, merchandising and marketing, GameStop Corp said:

By all indicators, we anticipate Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will be the biggest entertainment launch of all time. As of today, the number of pre-order reservations we’ve taken for the game is the highest for any title we’ve ever sold in our 6,200 store network.

Order you copy from HMV
Order you copy from Play.com
Order you copy from Amazon

Zune is a dedicated and complete media player that offers an HD video playback for several hours. The player is available in memory sizes of 16 and 32 GB which is enough for such devices. Zune HD uses Nvidia Tegra, which is a graphics friendly and Power friendly processor. But that’s enough technical details, for more visit my Nvidia Post. The player provides you with a wi-fi connectivity so that you can perform tasks like checking emails, browsing, streaming etc. One can say that it’s a pocket entertainment PC.

Technical Specifications (32 GB):

• Capacity: 32 GB
• Weight: 2.6 ounces (74 grams) sleek!
• Battery: HD video playback: 8+ hours, Music: 33 hours
• 3.3-inch OLED color display
• Connectivity: 802.11b/g compatible
• Built-in FM/HD Radio receiver
• 3.5mm Headphone jack
• Picture format: .JPEG

Last but not least, let’s see what experts have to say about it; TestFreaks rate it 9.1 out of 10 which is really good. They totally recommend this player. So go ahead, if you are looking for small size entertainment unit in your pocket, buy Zune HD. But before buying, do read reviews at TestFreaks.

According to a Microsoft spokesperson the MSN home page receives 600 million customers worldwide every month, nearly 100 million in the U.S. alone. The new home page has 50 percent fewer links, and is focused on providing access to the information and services people care about most. The new website theme will carry links in to five major categories news, entertainment, sports, money and life style. MSN would be outsourcing the content from MSNBC and Fox sports.

“More than half of people online start their sessions on sites like MSN and they told us they want simplicity – yet still want the latest information and their favorite services delivered together,” said Lisa Gurry, senior director at MSN.

The main objective of the new theme would be to generate more traffic to its Bing search engine, which was launched as a competitor to Google. MSN logo has also been redrawn to more closely resemble that of Bing. I am not sure about this new theme helping Bing grabbing some of the Google traffic; however, I am sure that this would be a healthy change for the MSN users.

MSN users would be able to see the new look in 2010. Preview New Theme

Kindle wireless reading device

Recently Amazon launched the Kindle wireless reading device. The device features 6 inches diagonal EInk display and is as thin as most of the magazines. It gives you with a comfortable reading experience like real paper with no glare even in bright sunlight. Using 3G wireless technology kindle lets you download books, anytime, anywhere; no monthly fees, service plans, or hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots.

Kindle weights about 10.2 ounces and hav a storage capacity up to 2 GB that can hold up to 1,500 books. It comes up with 2.0 micro B connector and a 3.5mm stereo audio jack and rear-mounted stereo speakers. Battery time is excellent as you can read books for days on a single charge with wireless on. Kindle has added a new text to speech feature; now kindle can read any thing loud to you. Various formats Supported by the kindle are: Kindle (AZW), TXT, Audible (formats 4, Audible Enhanced (AAX)), MP3, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; PDF, HTML, DOC, JPEG, GIF, PNG, and BMP through conversion.

Summarizing the all above features, Kindle gives you with:

• 20% faster page turns than original Kindle
• Wireless 3G
• Kindle Store
• Text-to-speech

The product gives you 1 year limited warranty. Here are some of Amazon Kindle customer’s comments about Kindle’s screen:

• “My first impression of Kindle’s screen was: ‘that’s a screen?! It doesn’t look like a screen.’ When I got my own, I had the same impression again. It looks like a book page, only perfect. No grain or pulp.” —Jeremy

• “I love how the screen really looks like a page, because I do work at a computer all day, and the last thing I want to look at is another screen.”
  —Amy P.

• “I found the contrast to be soothing and I was able to read in direct sunlight with no glare.” —M. H.

• “I use my Kindle for reading in bed and sitting at my desk. I also did a test read while sitting in full sun and the screen is even more readable.”
  —Dallas M.

• “Everyone who has seen my Kindle is amazed at the clarity of the screen, ease of use, and plethora of features.”—R.L.S.

Product is retailed for 259$ For the purchase log on to this page.

Nook eReader

Barnes & Noble set a new standard in the e-reader market by launching android based e-book reader. Company claims that it is the most advanced e-book reader on the earth. Like the other e-readers you can use it anywhere like at home, vacation, study, work, and travel. The device comes up with a standard 6-inch EInk display, and a small LCD touch screen at the bottom of the device, it weight about 11.2 ounces and gives you with 2 GB internal memory that can store up to 1,500 books. The battery can be fully charged in 3.5 hours and would last for at least 10 days.

Like any other e-reader, the nook supports bookmarking, making notes, synchronizing books across devices and highlighting passages. Nook e-reader comes with Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) facility by AT&T, the nation’s fastest 3G network. It has a universal 3.5mm stereo headphone jack and a micro USB port. The Nook will support EPUB and PDF documents. In addition, the device can also play MP3 files.

A brief comparison with Amazon kindle:

B&N supports a multitude of devices including the iRex DR800SG, the forthcoming Plastic Logic QUE, and various mobile, including the BlackBerry, iPhone and Motorola Cliq. And its partnership with Google gives its users access to over 500,000 public domain books which gives it a competitive edge over the kindle. The best feature that I like about nook is that users will be able to lend out books for up to 14 days at a time. You can just select a book and share it with your friends on ‘ Nook, iPhone or iPod touch. Nook is available for pre-orders at 259$, the device is loaded with features. It won’t be wrong to say that after the launch, nook is going to give Amazon kindle a real tough time, and technically speaking nook is giving features way better that the Amazon kindle.

For for information visit this page.

BeBook

BeBook is a small and light-weight as a single book. It is a Dutch manufactured e-book which is only 5 inches tall. The company has released its two models; having almost the same features.

Like Nook and kindle the BeBook gives you with a unique paper reading feature, and a clear and visible reading even in the bright sunlight. One time Battery charge last for at least 7,000 page turn, internal memory is only 512 MB, but it also has an expandable SD memory card slot. BeBook supports different languages including English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Chinese, Russian, Greek, Ukraine, Turkish, Japanese, Korean, Bulgarian, Estonian, and Polish.

Various Supported file formats are: pdf, mobi, prc, epub, lit, txt, fb2, doc, html, rtf, djvu, wol, ppt, mbp, chm, bmp, jpg, png, gif, tif, rar, zip, mp3. Like Nook and Kindle, it can also play the mp3 files. BeBook comes up with 20,000 free books and its retail price is $249.00, which is an excellent value. The product comes up with 1 year warranty and don’t forget to get your Leather protection case which is included with your BeBook.

For more information and order, visit this page.

Kindle

Nook e Reader

BeBook

Specifications:

• Display: 13.4-inch LED backlit – 1280×720 screen resolution
• Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel Core 2 duo 1.40GHz CULV processor
• Intel GS45 chipset
• 4GB DDR3 RAM
• 128GB SSD
• Wi-Fi b/g/n, HDMI and VGA ports
• DVD burner/Blu-ray drive (optional)
• DisplayPort, Bluetooth 2.1
• Two USB 2.0 ports
• External 250GB or 500GB Hard disk (optional)
• 20WHr battery -2.5 hours
• 40WHr battery -5 hours (optional)

Starting Price:

• $1,799

Release Date:

• December, 2009 (near holidays). Product Page

Pictures:

See more pictures here

Google partners with Espresso Book Machine (EBM) which is like an ATM machine that can produce a perfect bound, top quality book in minutes. The book that the machine prepares for you is just like the one you buy from market. The printing of pages, printing of cover, binding and cutting, everything takes places runtime at that machine. You can order any book using the screen in front of you, whose soft copy is available, and get it printed for in few minutes. No need to visit book stores or wait for the shipment to arrive from the online book store. It’s easy, it’s economical and it’s cool.

The Espresso Book Machine (EBM) is a product of On Demand Books and recently partnered with Google. The database currently has more than 2 million books in it and is expanding as a part of Google Book Search project. User can also give the machine his/her copy in .pdf form using CD or flash drive and the machine can print that too!

The Espresso Book Machine. Photograph: David Parry/PA

The machines gives a ATM feel and looks. Hopefully when they make it common in public it will have only a few portion visible to the customer, just like ATM machine. The printing cost is very economical, like a penny per page, however yet no official price is announced. As I write this article, there has been 25 location on which this machine’s been deployed. See the complete location list of EBM. Here are some of the remarkable features of the EBMs: (for a complete information about EBM visit this PDF file size: 1.4 MB)

• The trim size is variable between 8.25″ x 10.5″ and 4.5″ x 5.5″. So the publisher’s original size can generally be matched. Readers will detect no difference between the EBM copy and the publisher’s edition
• Binding: Perfect-bound (see video)
• Interior: B&W (with a color option at certain EBM sites)
• Page-Count: 40 to 830 pages
• Speed: A 300-page book in less than 4 minutes
• File format: Standard PDF for book block and cover. Books can be selected onsite, online, or even uploaded in person from CDs, flash drives, etc

This technology can completely change the book selling and businesses. A bookstore can have only one such machine and no books at all. Customer can come with his/her own PDF of book or can search from the database and print it at that moment and get a new, fresh smelling, book to home. If you still can’t believe in it, see the videos below:

General Overview

Espresso Book Machine

Requirements:

1. Windows 7 ISO (image) file
2. Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool. Download link
3. Flash drive of at least 4 GB capacity

Guide:

The tool size is under 1 MB and it’s easy, free and very light to use. After you download the tool, which is an .exe file, install it on your machine. Note that there are many other tools available to do this but we are using the one provided by Microsoft itself.

The tool provides a very easy to use step by step procedure to make bootable USB of Windows 7. All you have to do is follow the 4 steps and that’s it.

In step 2, you’ll be asked to select either a DVD or USB to make the bootable device, select USB and proceed. Insert the usb drive and click Begin Copying. This is the simplest tool I’ve ever seen, it does everything for you automatically. In 5 minutes you’ll get a complete bootable Windows 7 USB using this tool. You can also create a bootable Windows 7 DVD using the same tool.

For a detailed version about the tool visit Microsoft.

Technical Specifications:

• Model: Panasonic VIERA 32″ 16:9 8ms 720p LCD HDTV TC-L32X1

• Resolution: 1366 x 768

• Aspect Ratio: 16:9

• Brightness: 400 cd/m2

• Contrast Ratio: 12000:1

• Viewing Angle: 178°(H) / 178°(V)

• Response Time: 8ms

• Built in Speakers: 2 x 10W

• Weight: 28.9 lbs.

• Power Consumption: 120 W

One slight drawback that I see is the speaker volume. They should be a little more powerful for this 32″ TV. They may cause a bit of problem if you’re way to far from TV and the signals are weak. The viewing angle of almost 180 degree is great and will give you a better experience from angle viewing.

For complete list of features and connectivity support visit the deal link below. All the reviews so far are positive about this machine so you won’t regret it. The TV supports almost all type of standard, modern inputs and outputs and with 30 days refund offer. I recommend reading the complete reviews and technical specs before you buy this product. Good luck!

Deal Price: $650 $390
Deal Link: Newegg

And here is the video link.

Previously we saw another solution to the problem that a charger will single input has output of all famous company standards. This way one charger can be used for every device. However this is a better solution that all mobile phones should have one common input standard for charging like USB standard.

“Every mobile phone user will benefit from the new Universal Charging Solution (UCS), which enables the same charger to be used for all future handsets, regardless of make and model,” the ITU said in a statement on Thursday. These universal chargers would be energy efficient and also environment friendly, as they would reduce the green house gas emission up to 13.6m tones. “This is a significant step in reducing the environmental impact of mobile charging,” said Malcolm Johnson, director of ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Bureau.

The mechanism of these chargers is basically based on the Micro-USB port, the same port that is available at the digital cameras. Some manufactures might also provide the function ability to detach the cable from the adapter and charge it directly from the computers USB port. It won’t be compulsory for the mobile manufacturers to adopt these chargers. However some of the manufactures have already signed for it including Motorola, Nokia, Apple, Sony Ericsson, LG, NEC, Qualcomm, Research in Motion, Samsung and Texas Instruments.

The chargers would be launched in the first half of 2010 and would be roll out with new products.