One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) today announced impending release of its second generation notebook, the XO-2 or XOXO laptop. Said the company in a release issued today: “Leveraging new advances in technology, the primary goal of the ‘XO-2′ will be to advance new concepts of learning as well as to further drive down the cost of the laptop so that it is affordable for volume purchase by developing nations.”

Currently planned for release in 2010, the XOXO is set to be priced at $75; the company’s first-generation machine, the XO, while famously planned to be priced at under $100, actually wound up costing nearly double that, at $188. The new model is also set to consume less power, down from 2-to-4 watts to a mere 1 watt, 1/20 to 1/40 that of a standard notebook, with a smaller, lighter-weight footprint. OLPC also plans to add dual-touch displays to the notebook, making for a smoother e-book reading experience.

In the meantime, the company will introduce XO 1.5 next year. The notebook will feature the same design as the 1.0 model, with a lower cost and fewer physical parts.

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Have you ever wished that your MP3 player, Gameboy, or DVD player had BlueTooth (BT) so you could use a BT wireless stereo headset with it? I know I have. I first just originally wanted to review the Plantronics P590 Bluetooth (BT) stereo headset to use with my Sprint PPC-6800, but soon realized that the P590 can add BT capabilities to anything that has a standard sized earphone jack! Plantronics did not hold back with throwing in more extras in the box than I have ever seen, let alone would have even begun to imagine.

But of course, all the advanced features and add-ons mean nothing if the headset itself cannot deliver. what totally caught me off guard after I opened the box, and to see how well it actually does perform, read my review of this BT stereo headset that made me feel warm and fuzzy all over.

» Read the rest of "Review: Plantronics Pulsar P590E Bluetooth Stereo Headphones"

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If you were a thief, would you actually break into a home where the people are still awake, or have already gone to bed? I’d definitely settle for the latter, and this is why the FakeTV could actually fool potential thieves from entering your home. This device, when plugged into a power outlet, will emulate a TV by throwing enough glare in the room to indicate that someone is still up even till the wee hours of the morning. Definitely not the greenest gadget available on the market, but if it helps give you some peace of mind by acting as a deterrent, make it so.

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The economy’s in such a sorry state that people are postponing or foregoing altogether the purchase of a new cellular telephone, according to research from the market analysts at The NPD Group. The grim research says that domestic cell phone sales declined a whopping 22 percent in the first quarter vs. Q1 of 2007, a monumental decline.

Revenues for those phone sales are a little better, reflecting only a 7 percent decline and indicating that while fewer phones are being sold, at least they’re being sold at modestly higher prices.

In ranking the top five manufacturers in Q1, some surprises are evident. First: Apple’s not on the list. Second: RIM (maker of the BlackBerry) is, improving its station to #5, with a full 5 percent market share. That’s not bad considering the BlackBerry’s reputation as a corporate device with limited consumer-level appeal. (Perhaps the hot new BlackBerry products coming later this year will increase that share even further.) In fact, if there’s one bright spot in the report, it’s smart phones, which now consume a full 17 percent of cell phone sales vs. just 10 percent a year ago.

Perennial leader Motorola maintains its lead as the #1 phone seller in the U.S., despite its much-publicized corporate troubles. Samsung, LG, and Nokia round out the top five along with RIM.

Will Apple’s new iPhone change the picture considerably, or will the worsening economy continue to drag down the cellular sector? I’m hoping for the best but, as usual, preparing for the worst.

Get the full press release and study info here

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A leaked product roadmap has shown a bevvy of mobiles hitting up the King of Magenta this summer (June 16 - August 1), including the BlackBerry Bold and the recently revealed BlackBerry Kickstart. If the 9100 and 9000 are actually lined up for a simultaneous release, I’m a little boggled why they weren’t both announced at WES… initial reactions to the flip BlackBerry haven’t been especially promising, but hey, neither were those for the Bold, and I think it’s safe to say that attitude has seen a turnaround. For now, take this rumor with a grain of salt until photos of the actual roadmap are revealed.

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It looks like you might have to think twice before flipping that old iPhone on eBay when the 3G version finally hits — it appears that restoring the phone doesn’t actually erase the contents of the flash, meaning that your data is available to anyone with the proper tools until it’s overwritten. Making matters worse, it appears that Apple doesn’t do a low-level format when refurbishing iPhones either — an Oregon State Police detective was able to use forensic software to pull files, emails, and screenshots off an out-of-the-box refurbished iPhone. This actually shouldn’t be surprising to anyone — we’ve seen Several Utilities that access “deleted” portions of storage — but since Apple doesn’t provide users direct access to the iPhone’s filesystem, it’s basically impossible to clear your personal data off the device short of restoring and filling the disk with junk data. Hopefully iPhone 2.0’s Exchange based Remote Wipe feature is a bit more secure, eh? [Source: Jonathan Zdziarski's Domain via TUAW]

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Just a day after AT&T instituted a one iPhone per person limit to presumably ration remaining iPhone stock, the top US wireless carrier back-peddled and is now allowing customers to buy up to three iPhones at a time.

“Our No. 1 concern is to make sure that every customer who wants an iPhone gets one,” an AT&T spokesman said. “We thought yesterday that the fairest way to do that was to limit customers to one iPhone. Then we realized that we have sufficient inventory to go back to our original policy.”

AT&T customers can now expect to buy up to three iPhones with a credit or debit card. Cash and checks are not accepted in order to enforce the iPhone sales-limit.

[Via: Information Week]

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There’s no dearth of Bluetooth based wireless speakers out there, but Logitech put a nice bit of polish to this new Pure-Fi Mobile set, which is always appreciated. The A2DP stereo manages 12 hours of battery off of rechargeable batteries, and can work as a speakerphone with its built-in noise canceling mic. You can charge it up via USB or a wall jack, and there’s of course an aux-in jack when you’re not feeling in the wireless mood. Expect this one to hit Europe and the States in June for $150.

[Via Electronista]