The BlackBerry PlayBook was delayed for a long time to have its OS built to be rock solid, but shortly after the PlayBook was launched, and there is already a problematic batch. Nearly 1,000 faulty tablets were shipped to Staples, and now they’re being recalled.

RIM has commented that the faulty batch of tablets was indeed limited to the approximately 1,000 units, and that they had a faulty build of the OS. Furthermore, the company says that only a few went out to customers and that most are still in distribution, so with any luck you’ll never have to deal with this problem to begin with.

The list of serial numbers for the affected BlackBerry PlayBooks has been attached after the jump for you to search. Read more…

When Samsung developed the successor to the super-popular Galaxy S smartphone, they amended almost all of the problems and cons of the predecessor. However, the Galaxy S II isn’t born perfect too. The super smartphone hasn’t even landed officially on our shores, and it’s already getting an update.

Android Community reports that a new firmware update (available via Kies) addresses the overzealous auto-brightness setting that many owners have faced. The i9100XWKE2 revision also apparently increases the responsiveness of the Swype software keyboard — which is always a plus — so unless this update also fries handsets or something, it sounds like a desirable one.

SOURCE via Android Community

What can you do with some DC motors, cotton balls, and cardboard boxes? Well, I can’t brain any due to my puny brains only for faps, but Zimoun does see something. That, along with his mysterious single name, is what makes him an artist. Gadgets turned into art are always a magnificent view, and this is no exception.

His installations feature dozens of motorized cotton balls rolling across cardboard; the result sounds something like a heavy rainstorm. Or like the incessant, deadly chewing of the Langoliers, depending on your point of reference.

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Technology is evolving so rapidly that at times I can’t really catch up with them, physically and mentally. A good example is WiFi radio chip. They’re getting everywhere, from HDTV that has built-in WiFi, to fridges that has touchscreen AND WiFi, and doggy tags that has WiFi to help your pet dog tweet about its thought on that juicy bone you just gave it.

Now, Seagate has just squeezed in a WiFi radio chip and some tiny batteries into their next series of GoFlex external hard disk. No more USB cables? Oh yeah, I like that idea.

According to filings, the Seagate GoFlex Satellite not only plays the network-attached-storage card with built-in 802.11n WiFi, it’s also got a 3.7V battery inside its case. According to a leaked description, Seagate’s also planning a companion iOS app called “GoFlex Media” to let your iDevices stream content directly from the device.

But there’s good news. FCC docs also mention a USB 3.0 cable that delivers data and power simultaneously. Luckily they kept that old dog around.

SOURCE via FCC

Google talked a lot about their beloved Android platform, and the still-new Chrome OS in their Google I/O event last week. If you didn’t manage to attend the event, you can read about all the details on the internet, but if you prefer to watch the event on your couch, Google’s taking care of you as well. Both of the company’s I/O keynotes have been posted to YouTube, where they can be consumed in up to 720p resolution.

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Rooting your brand new smartphone has its advantages, but sometimes it’ll bring other side effects to your experience. Microsoft has publicly ‘mentioned’ that if you updated your Windows Phone 7 device using unofficial patches, then you may not be able to update your phone again when Microsoft released a new update.

But what if you’ve already done it, and regret now? Well, then you’ll need this application, which is a ChevronWP7-tested, Microsoft-approved program for pulling your phone out of Bizzaro World and setting things right back on track again. Guilt on his behalf? Well at least Microsoft is helping out a little here.

The source link for the application is just below, and don’t fret if the official update doesn’t immediately appear after you’re done — developer Chris Walsh says availability of the build depends on carrier approval.

SOURCE via Chris Walsh

The latest tablets all look so slim and slender, but then we also cannot ignore that those super thin tablets are also quite fragile and cannot be abused. So what if you want a tablet so much you’d die for one, and yet you are always in those dangerous environments where aliens will invade at any time, and a slight slip means the tablet will fall 3 storeys to muddy grounds with nails scattered everywhere.

Enter Xplore Technologies and its newest bombproof tablet, the iX104C5. This freshly minted model follows its progenitor PCs, the C2, C3, and the C4, in that it has a 10.4-inch XGA display and rugged good looks. This is something you bring to Afghanistan just to play Angry Birds.

Underneath that industrial exterior, the C5 improves upon earlier models with a 2.13GHz Intel Core i7 620UE processor and 2GB of RAM (expandable to 8GB) running Windows 7. It has dedicated GPS, Gigabit ethernet, Bluetooth 2.1, 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi, and a Gobi 2000 mobile broadband card to live stream you about Steve Jobs’ speech at WWDC 2011 when you’re at the warzone.

There’s also a hot-swappable 10-cell Li-Ion battery and dual SSD drive capability with RAID support, so your data is as safe as the hardware housing it, so that you won’t lose your emails sent by your petite girlfriend back home. This thing can survive being thermally shocked, dropped, vibrated, and generally abused so that you have no excuse of losing those precious photos.

There are two models coming from the company, one that’s called “Lite” version starting at $3,299, and another more elite version for the top dogs, which will kill any dogs at $7,200.

SOURCE via Xplore Technologies