Palm Pre UK announcement next week

A briefing for the UK press has been arranged by Palm for next week – fuelling rumours that they will be announcing release details for the much anticipated Palm Pre smartphone.

The phone was released in the first week of June in the US but us poor old Brits have had to wait with baited breath for launch details. As of yet we’ve heard nothing.

palm-ddpre.jpg

But this could all be set to change on 7th July. Hopefully, Palm will not only provide a release date but they’ll also give us network and price information. Rumours have circulated that the Pre will be exclusive to O2, although Vodafone has also been touted as a possible carrier.

I’m going to stick my neck out and say it will be available on O2 with the same contracts available as with the iPhone 3GS. This is purely a guess though. Just a bit of fun. Don’t come complaining if I’m wrong.

(via T3)

Firefox 3.5 out tomorrow

firefox_logo2.jpg

Mozilla has confirmed that version 3.5 of their popular web browser, Firefox, will be released tomorrow – thus fulfilling their promise of a June release…just.

Codenamed Shiretoko – which incidentally is a peninsula in the north-east of Japan geography lovers – version 3.5 is a confusing number jump from the current 3.0.11. Version 3.1 was planned for a December 2008 release but a greater scope in changes, due to numerous bugs, has led Mozilla to jump straight to the 3.5 moniker.

Firefox 3.5 has been available in beta for a couple of weeks now and is said to offer greater performance for the user, although there are suggestions that the beta version of the new Google Chrome release is even faster.

One of the major upgrades of 3.5 is the support for HTML 5 video and audio. Other changes include a private browsing feature, for the more prudent web surfer, and improved add-on features. In all there are over 5,000 changes although the majority of these will be unnoticeable for the end user.

If you can’t wait until tomorrow you can get the beta here. Or, just wait and Firefox will prompt you to update when it is ready.

(via PCPro)

iPlayer project chief talks iPlayer 2.0 and Broadcast 2.0

bbc-iplayer-logo.jpg

The iPlayer’s now been around for just over a year, and the project chief, Anthony Rose, has had a chat to the Guardian about how he sees the future of the application. Damn, it looks rosy.

He mentions a wealth of brilliant-sounding features, including a sign-in system, an online library, and a system that lets you talk about BBC programmes with friends. Essentially, they’re making the iPlayer social. Your friends will be able to deliver recommendations and ratings and discussions will only be shared with that friend network – not the whole userbase.

DSi sells 170,000 units in two days at Japan launch

nintendo-dsi.jpg

A refreshed model of the Nintendo DS, featuring a camera and larger screen, has been selling well in Japan in its first couple of days on sale. More specifically, it has sold just over 170,000 units. That’s a decent amount for an only incrementally-changed version of a console that’s already owned by one in five members of the population – 23.6 million people.

Stores across the country were sold out, but iPhone-like queues weren’t seen because Nintendo didn’t really go for a media-friendly early-morning launch event. Many avoided queuing by reserving a unit beforehand and showing up later to pick it up. There’s no specific date for a western release of the DSi yet but, as previously reported, I’d be very surprised if it was later than next Spring.

Nintendo DSi (via PC World)

Related posts: New Nintendo DSi to hit the shelves in Spring ’09 | Nintendo DS to relaunch with a camera and MP3 player

MoD releases UFO files

lenticular-cloud.jpg

The Ministry of Defence, under pressure from “enthusiasts”, has just released a bunch of data about UFO sightings between 1986 and 1992. The sightings are dotted across the UK, but include Belfast International Airport, Glenavy, Heathrow and Lydd in Kent.

One sighting was from the captain of an Altilia airliner, who saw a brown missile-shaped object shoot past overhead, who shouted “look out!”. Neither the Civil Aviation Authority, nor military investigations, could explain the event or what happened. If you’re interested in poring through the reports yourself to try to work it out, then they’ve been made available on a dedicated, and rather attractive, website from the National Archives.

UFO Archives (via BBC)

Related posts: Wingless electromagnetic air vehicle (UFO! UFO! UFO!) set to take off this year | Nokia N95 used to capture footage of UFOs in Liverpool, Nokia rejoices over free publicity