Sprint's Treo Pro in the wild, now with more box

Yo, Sprint, Palm, guys... seriously, give it up. We all know this thing's coming, so can we at least get an announcement or something? We've seen the CDMA-flavored Treo Pro in Sprint livery in the wild already, and now we're seeing the box, which -- no surprise -- bears a strong resemblance to its GSM bedfellow. As far as we can tell, this sucker is still on track for release before the end of the month, and with retail packaging floating around, it seems at least plausible -- so here's hoping, eh

LG Display CEO says that LCD panel prices have "reached a bottom"

The company may not exactly have the final say on the matter, but LG Display CEO Kwon Young-soo seems confident that the market for LCD panels is finally set to turn around, with him saying today that, "the good news is that we've reached a bottom," and that, "TV panel prices will likely stop the downward trend and recover." LG doesn't see things completely turning around overnight, however, and in the meantime it says it'll be pouring more than $400 million into a new production line designed to produce high-end LTPS LCD displays for mobile devices, which it apparently expects will be a more profitable area, and help it turn that frown upside down once more.

Green House rolls out Kana Micro digital audio player

It looks like anyone that wished their digital audio player looked more like a nondescript USB drive is now in luck, as Green House has just introduced its new Kana Micro player, which is far more likely to get lost than stolen. True to its barebones nature, it seems you'll also have to supply your own microSD card for storage with this one (up to 2GB is support), and you can apparently expect to get a whopping two hours of battery life before it needs to be recharged via the built-in USB connector. No word on a release 'round here just yet, as you might have guessed, but those in Japan can pick one up right now in their choice of seven different colors for a mere ¥1,480, or about $16.

Wrist Band Portable Battery charges your phone, electrifies your look

There are plenty of terrible portable chargers out there, but the "Wrist Band Portable Battery" sure isn't one of them. The name pretty much tells the whole tale -- it's a wrist band packed with a lithium-ion battery (that supposedly gets about five hours of juicing time) for charging numberless portable devices. It comes with 7 different adapters, and the totally awesomely-styled band itself has a set of LEDs which indicate the battery life remaining. It'll cost you about $25 to get one of your own and prove once and for all that no, punk is not dead. Check out a few more pics after the break.

NOKIA 6260 Slide

The Nokia 6260 slide is a Series 40 6th Edition phone, supporting quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900, triple-band WCDMA 900/1900/2100 and WLAN. Other key features include integrated A-GPS with included maps, a 5.0 megapixel camera with LED flash and Carl Zeiss optics, WebKit Open Source Browser, Flash Lite 3.0, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and MIDP Java 2.1 with additional Java APIs. Supported WCDMA frequencies depend on the region where the device is available.

Specifications:

Form Factor	Slide
Size	99.4 x 46.5 x 15.4 mm
Weight	114 g
Display Size	320 x 480 pixels
Display Colors	TFT, 16M colors
Ring tones	Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3
Media Player	Yes
Games	Yes
Ports	Yes, Up to 8GB
Total Memory	200 MB internal memory
Talk Time	Up to 6 h
Standby Time	Up to 400 h
Operating Frequency	GSM 850/900/1800/1900

Dell adds 256GB SSD option to XPS M1330 and M1730 laptops

Oh, how the times change! In August of last year we were talking up a 128GB SSD drive for Dell's XPS laptops like it was some kind of hotness -- and only $450! Now that same drive is a mere $200 upgrade, while a new 256GB SSD has been introduced to Dell's XPS M1330 and M1730 laptops for "only" $400. Sure, six months from now we're gonna be chatting up a slightly cheaper 512GB SSD and laughing at our January selves, but we just can't help ourselves and this pesky linear of progression of time we're so beholden to. Dell's also now offering a 7200RPM 500GB HDD as well, and plans to introduce both of these upgrades to additional laptops in the next few weeks.

XCM Dominator joystick for PlayStation 3 ships next week for $89.99

Well tell ya, these cats at XCM really know how to craft some irresistible gear. After making us wait seven painstaking months for a new gadget to drool over, the creators of the Mega-Cool component-to-VGA converter have announced that the Dominator Joystick for PlayStation 3 is all set to ship next week. The highly programmable arcade-style stick includes a Combo Attacker and Rapid Fire mode for borderline cheating, and the four memory buttons enable macros to be stored and kept at arm's reach. Of course, a gaming joystick wouldn't be a gaming joystick without a superabundance of blue LEDs, so you'll certainly find those there as well. You can toss in your pre-order now if you'd like, but make sure you've got $89.99 free and clear before doing so.

Brando's USB Aircraft Mouse was likely used somewhere in AvP

No, seriously -- can you not envision that heinous object above suddenly conjuring up enough energy to transform into a real live, breathing, hungry alien? Brando's USB Aircraft Mouse is simply too frightening to recommend for children under the age of 25, but those hardened enough to control it can select one in five different hues (including camouflage, so you'll never even know when it arrives). We also get the idea that this thing is perfect for implementing carpal tunnel syndrome into your own life, which -- in our humble opinion -- is worth the $17 admission charge alone

Stealth introduces Core 2 Duo-equipped LPC-650 Mini PC

Man, it's been awhile since we've seen any miniature machines from the labs of Stealth, but the outfit is returning over a year after introducing its LPC-350PCI with the even tinier LPC-650. Featuring a mildly attractive 6.54- x 6.18- x 1.89-inch aluminum chassis with a Core 2 Duo within, the micro PC is also stocked with gigabit Ethernet, a slot-loading optical drive, optional SSD, WiFi, 1GB of DDR2 RAM and a rather respectable array of ports including twin USB 2.0 jacks, HDMI, audio in / out and a RS-232 socket. Unfortunately, you'll be paying a serious premium for all the space savings -- it gets going at $1,595, and it's only up from there depending on CTO options.

The e-Loam F7: it will drive you completely insane with jealousy

Been hankering for a cheapo UMPC? Perhaps the folks at e-Loam can answer your strained prayers. Enter the F7, a VIA C7-based handheld with a 1.2GHz CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 8GB (or 80GB) hard drive, WiFi, and... not much else. The teensy device boots XP, has Bluetooth, a 0.3 megapixel webcam, and features a resistive 7-inch touchscreen (cool stylus included). There's not much more info on this guy right now, but based on the pictures, it appears to have stereo speakers, and Pocketables speculates there may be an optical mouse somewhere in this mix. Regardless, we spent this whole post trying to figure out how loam -- a fertile soil of clay and sand containing humus -- fits into the picture.

Sony's VAIO P priced at £300 on Amazon's UK site

Now we're talking. We don't exactly what's going on in the UK, but this VAIO P for £300 (about $442) makes us seriously want to jet on over. The last time we saw one of these babies priced, we were looking at a steep £1,368.99 (or around $2,017) -- though that was for the kitted out 128GB SSD version with 3G broadband on-board. Still, we'll happily take this 60GB HDD / 2GB RAM iteration at this price, since it actually hits that sweet spot we were hoping to find the first time around. The only question is whether or not this isn't just some kind of nasty glitch in the Matrix -- it does seem unlikely we'll see price fluctuations this wide. Any word Sony? We'll be reaching for our credit cards and international waybills while we wait.

Update: If it seems to good to be true, it probably is, right? Right. The price is now back to the astronomical figure of £740 ($1,090). Drat.

Alesis iPod JamDock plays the backing band to your Ashlee Simpson

Apparently, when Alesis looks at an iPod the company gets dollar signs in its eyes -- between the 8 track mixer for the home recording set, the pro audio-minded rack mixer, and the ProTrack dock / portable digital recorder, you'd think they'd have all their bases covered -- but that's clearly not the case. Among the many goodies making the scene at this year's NAMM, JamDock is aimed at musicians who want to incorporate iPod audio into their performance. This bad boy sports two 1/4-inch inputs that support both line level and high impedance instruments, 1/4-inch monitor outs, and a single 1/4-inch stereo out for headphones. It can be mounted on a drum rack or stand using the e-percussion Module Mount (sold separately). Pricing and availability have yet to be announced. In the meantime, it looks like bedroom musicians will be stuck jamming to the Miami Vice theme on their boomboxes, just like nature intended.

ASUS spices things up with 16-inch F50 / 17.3-inch F70 laptops

At first glance, there's nothing exceptionally, um, exceptional about the new F50 and F70 lines from ASUS, but upon further investigation, each family does actually do a decent job of differentiating. Both crews sport the "new generation Infusion styling," which is reportedly exactly like looking at the Aurora Borealis (really, ASUS?), and they also boast Full HD (1080p) panels, an HDMI port and a fresh "Chocolate keyboard" which melts in your mouth, not in your hand. The whole lot also features the Express Gate instant-on OS, and hardware geeks will appreciate the upwards of 1TB of HDD space and optional Blu-ray drive. Per usual, ASUS isn't dealing prices or ship dates, but you can have a look at all possible configurations down in the read link. One more shot is after the break.

Microsoft spokesperson clarifies report of limiting number of WinMo phones

The Windows Mobile world got shook up a little earlier this month when Microsoft's VP of Marketing for WinMo said that the company was looking to cut back on the total number phones out there in order to "be more focused," but it now looks like that may not entirely be the case. According to TamsPPC, a spokesperson from Microsoft Austria has relayed the message that while Microsoft's stepped-up efforts to work with its partners may well result in fewer phones, "the implication in The New York Times that Microsoft will limit the number of Windows Mobile devices is not accurate." So, it seems that Microsoft isn't exactly throwing a firm number out there, but it also seems like it won't be too upset if fewer substandard phones make it to market.

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 drives said to be failing at an alarming rate

Rumors flying, sensational headlines, dogs and cats living together. Yes, its another apparent rash of hard drive failures -- this one centered on Seagate's spacious 1TB Barracuda 7200.11 drives. Apparently, the problem lies in a faulty firmware found on drives manufactured in Thailand, which causes them to fail before they're even able to boot up and leaves them completely inoperable, with some extensive data recovery measures the only option for those looking to hang onto their data. What's more, while Seagate is now said to be updating the firmware on newly manufactured drives, it's apparently not possible to update the firmware on the toasted drives, as they're not even able to be detected by the BIOS once they fail. Seagate still doesn't seem to be addressing the issue publicly, however, and as Tom's Hardware points out, they haven't yet issued a recall on unsold drives, so anyone planning on upgrading or building a new PC may want to proceed with caution.