BEST BUY TO OFFER TOUCHPAD WITH HP COMPUTER PURCHASE

Best Buy announced on Monday that customers who purchase an HP or Compaq laptop, desktop or all-in-one computer can opt to purchase an HP TouchPad tablet for an additional $149. The deal, which gives a small breath of life to a tablet that has already been killed-off by HP, kicks off on November 1st. Interested buyers can also purchase the TouchPad for $599.99, the tablet’s initial launch price, without buying an HP computer. As a quick refresher, the TouchPad offers a 9.7-inch XGA display, 32GB of storage, a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and support for 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and NFC.

U.S. DRONE FLEET HIT WITH COMPUTER VIRUS

Wired is reporting a computer virus has infected the cockpits of America’s Predator and Reaper drones, logging pilots’ every keystroke as they remotely fly missions over Afghanistan and other warzones.

The virus, first detected nearly two weeks ago by the military’s Host-Based Security System, has not prevented pilots at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada from flying their missions overseas. Nor have there been any confirmed incidents of classified information being lost or sent to an outside source. But the virus has resisted multiple efforts to remove it from Creech’s computers, network security specialists say. And the infection underscores the ongoing security risks in what has become the U.S. military’s most important weapons system.

“We keep wiping it off, and it keeps coming back,” says a source familiar with the network infection, one of three that told Danger Room about the virus. “We think it’s benign. But we just don’t know.”

Military network security specialists aren’t sure whether the virus and its so-called “keylogger” payload were introduced intentionally or by accident; it may be a common piece of malware that just happened to make its way into these sensitive networks. The specialists don’t know exactly how far the virus has spread. But they’re sure that the infection has hit both classified and unclassified machines at Creech. That raises the possibility, at least, that secret data may have been captured by the keylogger, and then transmitted over the public internet to someone outside the military chain of command.

UNLIMITED GAME DOWNLOAD COMING TO GAMEFLY THIS FALL

GameFly announced on Wednesday it will soon offer a new service called “Unlimited PC Play” that will allow gamers to download an unlimited amount of games to their Windows or Mac computer. Much like Netflix’s business model, GameFly will provide instant access to more than 8,000 rental discs or more than 1,500 instant downloads for a monthly fee.

The service will require a desktop client that will include news, a feed of HD trailers and screen shots of the latest games. GameFly also said there will be a social component that will allow gamers to interact with one another in real-time. A closed beta will begin on September 8th for current GameFly subscribers and a public launch will occur during the holiday season.

COMCAST ANNOUNCES $10 INTERNET ACCESS FOR LOW INCOME FAMILIES

Cable and Internet provider Comcast is launching a new initiative aimed at bridging the digital divide, offering discounted web access and home computers to families that meet income requirements. The plan, called Internet Essentials, will be available wherever Comcast offers Internet services, which it currently does in 39 states. When the Comcast-NBC/Universal merger was approved, regulators also required the company to help low-income households get online.

The requirements the household must meet are:

• Is located where Comcast offers Internet service;
• Has at least one child eligible to receive a free school lunch under the NSLP;
• Has not subscribed to Comcast Internet service within the last 90 days;
• Does not have an overdue Comcast bill or unreturned equipment.

SAMSUNG SAYS 90% OF US CONSUMERS WANT TABLETS

Samsung on Tuesday released the findings of a recent survey intended to determine just how desirable consumer tablets are in the U.S. According to the survey, which was commissioned by Samsung Mobile and conducted by Kelton Research, 90% of U.S. consumers either already own a tablet or would consider purchasing a tablet. Of the current tablet owners among the 1,000 people polled in the survey, 76% said they use the devices to read news or books, 64% said they watch TV shows or movies, 61% use tablets to listen to music and 56% say the update their social network profiles with their slates. Also of note, 53% of respondents said they would rather play games on a tablet than a PC or dedicated game console, and 41% said they were interested in video chat.

BIN LADEN COMMUNICATED VIA USB STICK AND COURIER

In this day and age if you are trying to track someone down then looking for activity online and an associated IP location may be your best bet. But that didn’t happen with Osama Bin Laden even though he regularly sent out emails. So how did he do it?

His compound didn’t even have a phone line let alone a dedicated line for broadband, but Bin Laden was in possession of a computer. Instead of hooking up to the web, he decided to remain offline and instead employed a courier to take his emails to a working conenction away from where he was hiding.

The communications were loaded on to a USB stick by a trusted person within his network. That stick would then travel to a location where the messages could be sent and then responses were uploaded to the same stick for delivery back to Bin Laden.

While this method of communication is slow, it meant there was never any trace of Bin Laden’s location when the messages were sent. However, now he is dead and his computer has been seized, U.S. officials have gained access to thousands of those messages and their responses. There are thought to be more than 100 drives full of this information.

For those in contact with Bin Laden it must be a worrying time. The U.S. now has hundreds of email addresses and phone numbers as well as a lot of detail about events that have either taken place or were being planned. Some of that could lead to prosecutions, and at the very least a lot of disruption to the terrorist network.

APPLE UNVEILS NEW iMACS

Apple has updated its all-in-one desktop computer line, the iMac, with Intel’s latest processor family, Sandy Bridge, and improved specifications. Available in both 21.5-inch and 27-inch models, the new iMac can be configured with quad-core Sandy Bridge processors starting at 2.5 GHz and will come standard with AMD Radeon HD graphics cards, 4GB of RAM, and a 500MB or 1TB hard drive.

The computers will also include Apple’s new Thunderbolt I/O port for high-speed data transfers. “Starting at $1,199, the new iMac is up to 70 percent faster and new graphics deliver up to three times the performance of the previous generation,” reads the press release. “The iMac continues to feature its signature aluminum and glass design, gorgeous IPS LED-backlit high resolution display, SD card slot and comes with Apple’s innovative Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad.”

HTC TO GET INTO AUTOMOTIVE BUSINESS?

HTC's been riding high on its smartphone success as of late, and now it looks like its ready to cruise into the automotive market. That's right, the world's third most valuable smartphone manufacturer is seeking to add a North American "automotive business development director" to its team. According to a job post that appeared on the Taiwan-based company's website, HTC is looking to hire an "experienced leader in the automotive electronics industry" to "develop business in the automotive market."

This could mean an uptick in HTC in-car accessories and built-in console computers like Microsoft's SYNC.

RUMOR: AMAZON TABLET COMING THIS SUMMER

Amazon is said to be prepping a new tablet device that may launch as early as this summer. According to a report from gadget site gdgt, Amazon has chosen Samsung to help design and build the tablet, which may run Honeycomb or even a custom operating system based on Google’s Android platform. Rumors of an Amazon tablet have been around for quite some time, and Android was always expected to be Amazon’s OS of choice.

News that the company may be building its own OS on top of Android suggests it may forgo some of Google’s core Android services, possibly including the Android Marketplace, and instead use the device to foster adoption of the Amazon Appstore, Cloud Drive and other Amazon services. Of course eBooks — specifically, Amazon’s Kindle platform — are expected to be a major focus of the tablet as well, and Amazon will also likely use the new device to push its music and movie services.

Given the added weight and drastically reduced battery life of tablets compared to dedicated eBook readers like the Kindle, it is likely that Amazon’s forthcoming tablet will compliment the Kindle eReader rather than replace it.

LEAKED: DELL'S SMARTPHONE AND TABLET LINEUP FOR 2011 AND Q1 2012

WPCentral and Android Central got their hands on alleged smartphone and tablet roadmaps for the entire year, detailing the company's plans for devices running operating systems that have yet to be formally announced, including Android Ice Cream (yes, Ice Cream!) and Windows 8 as well as the tablet-friendly Honeycomb. Here's the full rundown.

Smartphones:

• Things look pretty boring (and by boring, we mean beautifully curvy) until approximately mid-April of this year, when the Venue Pro gets some "additional features and enhancements" which we're pretty sure we can name.
• Then, Q3 brings the Wrigley, what looks like a vertical QWERTY slider identifying itself as "Windows Phone 7 Next Gen," and sporting a 1GHz CPU, 4-inch 800 x 480 screen, and a 8 megapixel camera with 720p video recording. Nothing out of the ordinary, as far as we know.
• By September, things should get very interesting as Android Ice Cream will apparently be out, and Dell's Hancock will scoop it onto a a 4-inch qHD screen with dual cameras, dual-core processing and 1080p recording.
• Starting Q4, would-be Hancock buyers will have a dual-core multimedia slate alternative, as the Millennium drops the keyboard for a larger 4.3-inch screen and DLNA support (though the front-facing camera is limited to VGA resolution.)

Tablets:

• Dell's Streak 10 won't keep us waiting for long: come April, the Gallo will reportedly be chomping away at some tasty Honeycomb. But that's not all -- Dell lists a handwriting update for the Gallo in October or thereabouts. There's also a Streak 7 update scheduled for July -- we imagine that's the point when Dell believes it can shoehorn Android 3.0 onto its older brother.
• Meanwhile, Dell's 10-inch Windows 7 slate, internally known as Rosemount, is slated for June, with a 1366 x 768 resolution that should allow for native playback of 720p video.
• We can't tell you what the Sterling is, but it's likely a mid-sized one, as it's slated to take over the Streak 7's duties in or about October with Android Honeycomb on board.
• Finally, come CES 2012 in January, we now expect Dell to drop three new tablets at once: the Opus One and Silver Oak running Android Honeycomb, and the Peju with Windows 8. (The Streak 10 / Gallo will apparently soldier on.) Numbers on the left of the charge suggest that the Opus will be small, the Silver Oak mid-sized, and the Peju large.

As noted at the head of the slide, all details here are subject to change.

GOOGLE UNVEILS MOVIE STUDIO VIDEO EDITOR FOR HONEYCOMB

Google today unveiled Movie Studio, a new application for the upcoming Honeycomb era of Android tablets that lets people edit videos.

The software, which Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt announced during a speech here at Mobile World Congress, is designed to expand on a phone's abilities to capture imagery.
With it, people can combine still images and videos to create broader video that can be shared online. People will be able to add musical soundtracks, fade to black at the end of the video, and add effects like the Ken Burns-style panning so common on Apple video software.
The software requires Android 3.0, the tablet-optimized version of Android set to debut soon with Motorola's Xoom tablet.

"When you play with Honeycomb, you'll get the sense of beauty and power we have with the new interface," Schmidt said. "I just really love it."

LEAK: SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB II

The next generation of the Samsung Galaxy Tab is expected to be announced at Mobile World Congress next week. Heavy rumors have the tablet increasing in size to 10-inches to compete better with the industry leading Apple iPad. The Galaxy is rumored to spec'ed similar to the recently released Motorola Xoom and be a Google Experience Device, meaning it won't have a ton of added UI layers and/or crapware installed. [Gizmodo]

RUMOR: HP TOUCHPAD COMING IN JUNE FOR $699

BGRis reporting that the HP TouchPad unveiled earlier this week could be with us in June at a price point of $699.

Until now HP has just stated that the TouchPad would arrive at some point in the summer, but refused to say when and how much it would cost. If this information from a trusted BGR source is true, it shows a little of the strategy HP has decided to follow.

While higher in price than the low-end iPad and RIM PlayBook, it does undercut the Motorola Xoom by $100.

VERIZON CRIPPLES WIFI ON XOOM TABLET UNLESS YOU BUY A DATA PLAN

According to a leaked Best Buy advertising circular, Verizon is crippling the WiFi capabilites of the Motorola Xoom tablets it subsidies unless a data plan is added. The circular states

To activate WiFi functionality on this device, a minimum of one month data subscription is required."

This is reminiscent of when Verizon crippled Bluetooth on its handsets fearing people wouldn't buy ringtones from them. It is highly doubtful this is a Best Buy policy, but one being forced on them by Verizon.

LG UNVEILS THE G-SLATE TABLET

LG wants to lead the pack of Android tablets and unveiled its newest (and first) entry in that segment, the G-Slate. This 8.9-inch powerhouse packs a 1Ghz dual-core Tegra 2 chipset behind a 3D display, running Android 3 (Honeycomb).

The Tegra 2 chipset gives the G-Slate the ability to show 720p HD and 3D content while also having the power to output in 1080p HD and 3D content to TVs and displays. The rear camera is a 5 megapixal stereoscopic 3D beast able to record 3D video in 1080p. The bad news is the 3D will require the use of glasses.

The G-Slate also has a two-megapixel frontside camera for video conferencing, and 32 gigs of storage space. And, as with most tablets and smartphones these days, it also comes equipped with a gyroscope and accelerometer.

The G-Slate will be coming to T-Mobile this spring. No word on pricing.

LEAKED: MOTOROLA XOOM TABLET PRICED AT $800 MINIMUM

Android Central is reporting that Verizon will be selling the hot Motorola Xoom tablet, debuted at CES, for $800. The device will be running Android Honeycomb and will be Google's flagship tablet device. The pricing seems to be in line with the Samsung's Galaxy S tablet.

LEAKED: PALM PAD DEBUTING AT CES

It has been known for quite some time that Palm will be introducing its first iPad competitors in 2011, but FoxNews.com claims to have some new details about the tablet line dubbed PalmPad. Accompanying what appear to be drawings of the device, a purported spec sheet details several features of the upcoming webOS tablets. Highlights of at least one model include WiMAX compatibility for use with Sprint’s 4G network, an HDMI-out port, a 3-megapixel rear-facing camera with LED flash, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera (oddly, also with an LED flash according to the report) and a USB 3.0 port. The report suggests there will be three versions of the PalmPad initially, though it doesn’t provide a firm explanation of the differences between models. It does state that at least one PalmPad will likely have a screen “nearly identical” to the iPad’s 9.7-inch display, and there will be a fourth “university version” of the PalmPad with an 8.9-inch screen that will not be on display at CES. FoxNews.com claims that the PalmPad line will launch with version 2.5.1 of Palm’s mobile operating system, webOS. While the source of these rumors doesn’t exactly have a solid track record — or any track record with Palm leaks, for that matter — we’re rapidly approaching CES and Palm isn’t exactly known for its ability to keep things under wraps. [BGR]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMAIL

Email turns 41 today.  The world's first computer-to-computer message sent via the internet in 1969.  Two scientist were suppose to send the word "log", however the connection was dropped before they were able to complete the word, leaving the 'g' off making the first email 'lo'.

LEAKED: SPRINT LAUNCHING SAMSUNG GALAXY TABLET NOVEMBER 14TH

A source at Sprint has leaked a memo showing the Samsung Galaxy tablet will launch on November 14th, just in time for the holiday shopping season.  The 7-inch tablet will sell for $399 with a two year agreement or $599 off contract.  No further details were released. [BGR]