Good news on the SSD front. Samsung is now mass producing its 1.8- and 2.5-inch SSDs in both 64GB and 128GB capacities. And since these SATA II SSDs are based on MLC -- 64 MLC NAND flash chips of 16 gigabits each in the 9.5-mm thick 128GB SSD -- you can expect them to be cheap by comparison to SLC-based SSDs and faster by comparison to traditional laptop hard disk drives while lasting about 20 times longer than the expected 4-5 year life span of that mechanical spinner. We're talking 70MB/s writes and 90MB/s reads and power consumption rated at just 0.2-watts idle or 0.5 watts when active -- far less than any of the models (including the SSDs tested by LAPTOP) tested by Tom's which should help put any battery consumption concerns to rest. Heaping happy on top of good, Samsung tells us to expect the 256GB SSD to go mass production by the end of the year. Clap clap clap.

The rain in Spain may fall mainly on the plain, but the summer sun drenches the entire country nearly every day. General Motors intends to make the most of it, covering the roof of its largest manufacturing plant in Europe with 85,000 solar panels, a whopping 2,000,000 square feet of them. That's 10 megawatts of clean electricity, enough to power 4,600 households -- or to build a bunch of Opel sub-compacts. What's not consumed by the robots on the assembly line will be sold back to the grid, funding future rooftop installations at 19 other locations across Europe. We're thinking GM should maybe invest a little of that into powering the cars themselves via solar, or risk getting beaten to the punch by Toyota again.

The D-Link MediaLounge DSM-330 is finally shipping to U.S. media streaming heads fiending for its 1080p upconverting, Divx/Xvid streaming abilities, although our excitement is dimmed a bit by all the competition that's popped up since we first laid eyes on the GejBox, and Stage6 falling by the wayside certainly doesn't help. That said, DivX has been on an upswing as of late, so the launch of its first Connected hardware couldn't come a moment to soon. Unfortunately MKV support isn't part of the package yet, but for $299 it does handle quite a few formats. Interested U.S. buyers should be able to find out if it matches up to Popcorn Hour's A-100 now, with Canadian distribution following shortly. Check after the break for the press release and the rest of the details.

According to the folks over at CrackBerry (who, let's be honest, might be a little biased when it comes to a certain brand of cellphone), Research In Motion's upcoming touchscreen phone -- the infamous Thunder -- will feature a virtual keyboard so realistic you'll swear you're sitting in front of 1986 IBM Model M. CrackBerry says "reliable sources" have told them that the device's screen will utilize a number of advanced technologies to create such an effect, including localized haptic feedback, which allows the screen to be literally pushed in while rewarding you with a vibration and click sound, and the option of a full QWERTY or SureType layout (depending on the phone's orientation). We can't speculate too much until we handle the device ourselves, but we're expecting this thing to blow our minds out through the front of our heads. That's not asking too much, is it RIM?

Well this was bound to happen. Ahead of schedule, Walt Mossberg has turned his official review of the new iPhone 3G, and we've got the recap. On the whole, Walt stays mostly positive about the device; he likes the form factor (which he wants to stress really hasn't changed much), says the 3G speeds are a big improvement over EDGE (no kidding?), and informs us that the audio quality and phone reception are -- thankfully -- improved all around. Downsides? There are plenty. Mossberg takes issue with AT&T's new pricing policy, which he finds steep, says he barely squeezed 4 hours and 27 minutes of talk time out of the battery, and gripes that you can only sync Exchange or personal calendars and contacts -- not both. If you're like us, you'll probably want to just read the whole thing. Too lazy? Check the video after the break.

Update: David Pogue of the New York Times has also turned in a kinda-sorta review of the iPhone 3G, though it reads more like an overview of its features than a honest-to-goodness critique. He also makes passing reference to the GPS antenna being "too small" to function as a proper GPS, which makes roughly zero sense to us. Feel free to figure it out on your own.

Update 2: Can't forget Ed Baig of USA Today, who says the new model is "worth the wait" (not to say we have any option at this point anyway, seeing how hard it is to find an original anywhere). He seemed to have trouble picking up 3G service in some locations, though it's not clear whether that can be chalked up to technical issues with the handset or a lack of coverage where he was testing. Like the others, Baig discovered a noticeable improvement in audio quality and a noticeable hit in battery life when hooked up to the 3G network. Gotta pay to play, we guess.

Alright, raise your hand if the deluge of minor new Eee PC models like yesterday's random launch of a 16GB 900 has you totally befuddled. Yeah, that's what we thought -- and apparently what ASUS UK thinks, too, because a new chart listing all the various Eee configurations is up on its site. One problem though: it's also confusing as hell. Just the first two rows are an insane mish-mash of model numbers and pre-loaded operating systems, and we're loving the unlabeled row at the bottom that marks all the Linux machines as "XP Compatible." Thanks, ASUS. All that said, however, it does look like the 901 still the Eee to buy -- so maybe it's time to start trimming this ridiculous list down, guys.

It's been a while since we've heard anything about Nokia's Haptikos tactile touch screen technology, but with the unearthing of some juicy patent details, we finally know what's going on here. Basically, the tech uses layers under the touchscreen to allow control of surface roughness and friction. The patent describes a "plurality of closely space voltage controllable protruberances" that can raise or lower based on where the user is touching the screen, resulting in what feels like resistance and tactile feedback. Filled with fluid, the protruberances increase fiction and help users feel like they're actually touching something rather than poking at a plane of glass. No word on any devices with the new haptic tech, but we wouldn't be surprised to see this show up in some of their new touchy-feely handsets in the near future.

[Via Unwired View]

Read - Patent Application (warning: PDF)

Continuing this day of iPhone 3G impropriety, the Boy Genius has somehow secured himself a brand-spanking-new iPhone 3G, and has unboxed it for all the world to see. First off, our condolences to the AT&T or Apple employee who will probably lose their job over this one, and then a tip of the hat to BGR for pulling off such a daring stunt. The pictures, however, should be less exciting (since we've been seeing a lot of these today) -- still, nice to know what you're about to get into! We've included a few more shots after the break.

Okay, third time's the charm -- here it is, a pre-production picture of the Skooba Checkthrough TSA-approved bag, direct from Skooba's CEO, Michael Hess. Michael got in touch after our last post to say that the Checkthrough will indeed be a multi-pocketed bag and have several unique and patented features, including a special 3-1-1 liquids compartment and a see-through window for rapid ID of contents. There's also a number of minor changes coming to the design, but no matter what, you should be able to get through security without having to take your laptop out of your bag. That's much more like it -- although now we actually kind of miss that gigantic nasty "Checkthrough" logo after all.

Finally we can toss out that old, boring Gemei X760 we've been fooling around with, and step up to some legitimate action. That's right, the X760+ is on the scene, and that + isn't just for show. The new iteration of the Chinese-made PMP / game playing device boasts 4GB of onboard storage, a 3-inch, WQVGA screen, a 400MHz CPU, FM tuner, and a TV output. The handheld is capable of playing MP3, WMA, APE, RM, MPEG, FLV, AVI, and VOB files (amongst others), but the main selling point here seems to be its built-in ability to emulate the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, as well as play "3D games." The price? 599 yuan (or about $87). Availability? Call an importer.

[Thanks, Raz]

After weeks upon weeks of painstaking delays (okay, so maybe that's a stretch... maybe), MSI has finally started shipping the Wind to US customers. As you very well know, these buggers have been showing up everywhere across the pond, but we've just received word that Fry's, NewEgg, Amazon, ZipZoomFly, MWave and Buy.com are all sending units out as we speak for those that pre-ordered. Chime in below if you've just recently received a shipping notification (or, heaven forbid, if you're still waiting). Full release after the jump.

Oh Pasen, how you entertain us so! In the company's latest update to the familiarly designed iTouch, the iTouch LE includes a new, faster JZ4732 chipset that they say allows the unit to play 30FPS, unconverted video with less strain on the battery. With 4GB of internal storage (memory card support up to 32GB), voice recording, and support for RM, RMVB, AVI, DIVX, FLV, DAT, ASF, MP4, WMV, 3GP, MPG, and SWF, this $79 unit may just be coming around on something good. The UI isn't any prettier than before, but at these prices, who's complaining? Spot the video after the break if you're still with us.

[Via PMP Today]

ASUS's newest, Atom-based 900 series Eee PCs may be fast approaching availability, but it looks like the company is still doing its best to get as many plain old Celeron-based Eee PC 900s out the door as possible, with it now offering up a $100 rebate on the already low-priced laptop. That brings the price down to $449, which is certainly a decent enough bargain compared to the $599 the updated Eee PC 901 will supposedly be going for -- Amazon price mix-ups notwithstanding. From the looks of it, both Amazon and ZaReason are offering in the rebate (good 'til July 31th) at the moment, but we'd expect the offer to start showing up at other retailers before too long as well.

As the big auto manufacturers scramble to come up with fuel-efficient alternatives for us gas addicts, smaller companies are swooping in with both concepts and production models. In the latter category, we have Mindset AG with the solar electric Six50 concept you see here. The 2+2 seater is designed to weigh just 1,764 pounds and measures about 13 feet long with a slab of solar panels over its haunches. Designer Mura Güntak expects the Six50 to run just about 62 miles per charge (although an optional generator can be added to extend this), do 0-60 in 7 seconds, and plans to roll out 10,000 of these bad boys by 2009 at the cost of $78,000 each.

[Via Inhabitat]