All Motorola XOOM tablets on the Verizon Wireless network are eligible to receive an upgrade to support 4G LTE. This includes those that have been unlocked; however, those units must be submitted for upgrade with the original factory software reinstalled and the device relocked in order to receive the upgrade.

For devices that are returned unlocked, Motorola will attempt to complete the upgrade, but may be unable to update the software. In these cases, the device will be returned to the consumer with just the 4G LTE modem installed.

To sum it all up, the rooted Motorola XOOM has to be relocked and returned with factory settings which will make sure that the device gets a complete upgrade. Devices that are returned rooted may not get the complete upgrade.

The initiative, previously known as Google Editions, offers an alternative sales model from the dominant players in the space, such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Apple.

Instead of purchasing e-books through a single online store to read only on compatible software (i.e. books bought from the Kindle Store can only be read on Kindle apps), GoogleGoogleGoogle lets consumers buy books either from its store or any other online vendor that sells books in EPUB and PDF formats, and read them on any device with a web browser.

This allows independent booksellers with loyal customer bases to advertise and sell Google e-books via their own venues and take an (as of yet undisclosed) cut of the revenue, an opportunity previously denied to them. It also allows consumers to choose whom to purchase their books from on Google’s platform, just as consumers can choose between third-party sellers on Amazon. Google E-books is also launching with an affiliates program in place.

It’s a smart move on Google’s end, as the company will have potentially thousands of booksellers and affiliates marketing on behalf of its service.

In addition to a Google Web Reader application, users will be able to read Google e-books on apps for AndroidAndroidAndroid, iPhone and iPad devices. Reading content will automatically sync across devices, so if you begin reading in the morning in the iPad, you’ll be able to pick up where you left off on your iPhone or Android device on the subway, and again on your office computer during your lunch break.

Nearly 4,000 publishers will be providing content through Google E-books at launch, including all of the major players: Random House, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, etc.

It’s a brand new ecosystem, which makes retailers and affiliates, as well as publishers, participants in the e-book selling process for the first time.

Today, we’re pleased to introduce the latest version of the Android platform, Gingerbread, and unveil the next Android device from the Nexus line of mobile products—Nexus S. And for developers, the Gingerbread SDK/NDK is now available as well.

* 1 GHz Cortex A8 (Hummingbird) processor
* 16GB of built-in iNAND flash memory
* 4-inch Super AMOLED Contour Display curved glass screen
* 5 megapixel rear camera and front-facing VGA camera
* Near Field Communication (NFC)
* Assisted GPS (A-GPS)

Nexus S is the lead device for the Gingerbread/Android 2.3 release; it’s the first Android device to ship with the new version of the Android platform. We co-developed this product with Samsung—ensuring tight integration of hardware and software to highlight the latest advancements of the Android platform. As part of the Nexus brand, Nexus S delivers what we call a “pure Google” experience: unlocked, unfiltered access to the best Google mobile services and the latest and greatest Android releases and updates.

Take a look at our backstory video for more on the vision behind this product and to understand why we think “a thousand heads are better than one”:

Nexus S is the first smartphone to feature a 4” Contour Display designed to fit comfortably in the palm of your hand and along the side of your face. It also features a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, front and rear facing cameras, 16GB of internal memory, and NFC (near field communication) hardware that lets you read information from NFC tags. NFC is a fast, versatile short-range wireless technology that can be embedded in all kinds of everyday objects like movie posters, stickers and t-shirts.

Gingerbread is the fastest version of Android yet, and it delivers a number of improvements, such as user interface refinements, NFC support, a new keyboard and text selection tool, Internet (VoIP/SIP) calling, improved copy/paste functionality and gyroscope sensor support.

The video, spotted by Gear Diary, is an interview between Greta Schlender, a HP Spokesperson, and Phil McKinney, CTO of HP’s Personal Systems Group. McKinney explains the development and excitement around the Slate PC ahead of Apple’s rumoured iPad device. McKinney claims 2010 is the year of the Slate form factor due to “convergence of low cost, low powered processors” and Windows 7 which is a touch aware operating system allowing for third party applications to thrive.

Neowin got a hands on with the Pegatron Slate PC at CES earlier this month. Although the Slate devices are an exciting and new form factor we firmly believe that Windows itself has a long way to go until it can be used as touch only. HP and other device manufacturers will likely build touch interfaces on top of Windows 7 to provide an even better touch friendly experience. Unfortunately, as is the case with Windows Mobile, building applications on top of an operating system to gloss over the misdoings of the system is a recipe for disaster. HTC has tried this approach with its Windows Mobile devices over the years but as soon as you need to step out of the vendors touch interface then the annoyances and issues of an operating system not designed for touch ensue. It remains to be seen whether HP can build their Slate to withstand these issues.

Unfortunately there’s still no pricing information available or a firm release date. Ballmer demonstrated the device in Las Vegas last month at the Consumer Electronics Show but HP had no devices available for attendees to observe. A HP spokeperson would only confirm the device is “coming later this year”. Thanks Neowin.net

Following is a list of all resources that provide real-time video footage of the Beijing Olympic Games 2008. Some of these resources highlight events while some of them allow you to watch the Beijing Olympics 2008 live Online for Free.

1. Subscribe to official Beijing Olympics 2008 Video Feeds.
2. Watch video clips on the official YouTube channel for Beijing Olympics 2008.
3. Get live Olympics 2008 coverage at CCTV.
4. Watch live streams at Yahoo 7 and read news and reviews at Yahoo 7 Blog.
5. Stream live from BBC Sports or CBC.

The following blogs are covering the events and news related to Beijing Olympics 2008:

1. NY Times Olympics Blog
2. LA Times Olympics Blog
3. ABC Olympics Blog
4. Beijing Olympics Fan
5. Beijing Olympics Blog
6. Olympic Games Blog
7. China Olympics Blog

Kudos to Haris and Keith for compiling and sharing these excellent resources.

If you’re in the market for a fuel efficient car, but you’ve been holding out for something a little more advanced than the Prius — your dreams may have just been answered. Honda announced today that it would begin producing limited quantities of its FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles for sale in the US and Japan over the next few years. According to the automaker, it plans to offer around 200 of the zero-emission cars in the next three years, with a few dozen models expected on the road this year leased at around $600 a month. Said John Mendel, a senior vice president at Honda, “It’s an especially significant day for American Honda as we plant firm footsteps toward the mainstreaming of fuel cell cars.” Now all they have to do is get more than 3 fueling stations out there and we’ll be all set.

Read – Honda rolls out fuel cell car
Read – Honda starts producing next-generation fuel cell car

Sony’s Bravia Internet Video Link hasn’t really gotten much attention, but the little box is growing up so fast — Sony’s just announced that as of today, YouTube content will now be available at no extra cost. That’s in addition to channels from Style.com, Sports Illustrated, blip.tv, and others, and YouTube content should pop up in the BIVL’s XMB inteface just like all the rest. Sounds great — now to figure out how to RickRoll the sucker.

We’ve always been skeptical of Rolly’s purpose, but Associated Press business writer Rachel Metz isn’t pulling any punches when it comes to reviewing Sony’s MP3-playing dance-bot. She calls it a mere conversation-starter “if your dancing hamster has run off”, notes that the $400 toy lacks a headphone jack, and scoffs at the 2GB of storage. She also offers that while she gets the notion of the Rolly as a programmable bot with its “Rolly Choreograhy” software, she had a hard time justifying the time it took to just get through one song (30 minutes of tweaking for 20 seconds of bot action). We’re not about to defend the Rolly’s place in life, but let’s be fair: Rolly isn’t meant to solve problems: it’s meant to confuse AP writers, scare cats, and get hacked to all oblivion.

[Via BoingBoing]

Compared to those bulky alternatives out there, Columbus’ V-900 looks like a real gem. This diminutive GPS data logger appears to feature built-in Bluetooth, a microSD slot and bundled software that helps you map out those coordinates once you return home from that howling backpacking trip across Europe. Your guess is as good as ours when it comes to pricing / availability, but be sure and hit the read link if you’re interested in a few more glamor shots.

[Thanks, Dawei]

Thats where Yougle Vista comes to the rescue (Found via StartupMeme).

Yougle is a free plugin for Windows Media Center which allows Vista users to enjoy watching videos from their favorite services from right within Windows Media Center. The video services currently supported are YouTube, MSN Soapbox, Google Video, DivX Stage 6, DailyMotion, Shoutcast but using the Yougle Vista SDK users can even add their own sources.

More details on installing and using the plugin can be found at:

Yougle Vista