Hi-tech Frontier

Guitar Hero 5 axe takes an evolutionary step forward We've already noted drum alterations and turntable possibilities for Guitar Hero 5, so lets complete the set with some info on the new axe. The first major change is an utterly unnecessary but all the same appreciated white pick guard, which is paired up with a moody red paintjob for the body. Internal signaling has gone digital to minimize latency, while the strum bar has been tweaked for the sake of reliability. Ease of use has also been addressed through the addition of colored dots to the neck of the guitar and slight reliefs on the top, middle, and bottom fret buttons to allow full sensory awareness of the pseudo-guitar at all times. Eager rockers can get it alongside their annual copy of Guitar Hero this September.

eMachines offers up stylish, underpowered EZ1601-01 all-in-one PC Remember that EZ1600 we peeked back in April? Seems its long lost cousin just got official courtesy of eMachines, as the EZ1601-01 all-in-one retains that same PC-in-a-monitor feel yet sports a clearly different model name. Or, you know, maybe eMachines just changed the label up on us. At any rate, the newest member of the EZ Series features a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU, 945GSE chipset, 1GB of DDR2 memory, completely uninspiring GMA 950 integrated graphics, a 160GB SATA hard drive, 8x SuperMulti DVD burner, WiFi, five USB 2.0 sockets, built-in speakers, a bundled keyboard and mouse, multicard reader and a 18.5-inch LCD. Thankfully, the underpowered machine offers up Windows XP in order to keep resource demands in check, but the $399.99 price tag may be a bit much given the N270's age.

Fonera 2.0n wireless router available - adds media sharing, shared storage Remember that that Fonera 2.0 wireless router that's been blowing minds in Europe since way back in April? FON has announced today that it's now available Stateside as the Fonera 2.0n. If that weren't excitement enough for a Tuesday morning, the thing has received a slathering of new features, including storage (just supply your fave USB 2.0 drive), 802.11n, and the ability to sync your YouTube, Flickr, Picasa, and Facebook files, as well as clients for managing your RapidShare, Megaupload, and bit.torrent addictions. Just make sure you're not violating anyone's copyrights, huh? The movie industry is struggling enough as it is.

Samsung PL70 and PL55 bring 12 megapixels to the unwashed masses Promising to allow the differently rich consumer a chance to experience "the latest and most advanced digital imaging technology" (of 2008), Samsung has today announced two new entry-level cameras. While the headline features -- 12.2 megapixel sensor and 5x optical zoom -- are identical, the PL70 (SL720 here in the US) comes with a 3-inch LCD screen, 28mm wide-angle lens and an optical image stabilizer, whereas the PL55 (SL502 for us Yanks) makes do with 2.7-inches, 35mm and digital image stabilization. The senior model also records video at 720p ( 640 x 480 for the PL55) and boasts the nifty ability to search images by a person's face. The usual scene, face, smile and blink detection is available on both cameras, while pricing is set at $229.99 and $149.99, respectively, for the August-bound shooters.

Rock delivers BD / Core i7-equipped Xtreme 790 and Xtreme 840 gaming laptops Can you believe it? It's been practically a year to the day since we've seen any new fragging machines from the lads over at Rock, but thankfully things are still moving after being rescued by a rolling Stone. The latest duo to take Europe by storm involves the Xtreme 790 and Xtreme 840, both of which can be outfitted with NVIDIA's 1GB GeForce GTX 280M (or two of 'em, if you're feeling froggy), Blu-ray drives, 6GB of DDR3 RAM, WiFi, four USB 2.0 sockets, an HDMI port, Windows Vista (with a gratis upgrade to Win7 this October), a 7-in-1 card reader, 3TB of HDD space and a 3-year on-site warranty. Heck, you can even toss a Core i7 in there if you think your legs are calloused enough to handle it. Both machines can be ordered up right now, with the 790 range starting at £1,999 ($3,258) and the less extravagant 840 line picking up at £1,699 ($2,769).

Hello Kitty Phone 3G is our next impulse buy We aren't usually so taken in by a KIRF. In fact -- we've seen so many knockoff iPhones, we had started to consider ourselves steeled against their charms -- and then along came Hello Kitty Phone 3G. What is it about HKP3G that we love so much, you ask? Is it the happily tooled pink background scene on the facade of the phone? Is it the hideously realized user interface, complete with typos and a blatant disregard for capitalization standards we've all respected since the 19th century? Is it the little kitty on the solo button? Is it the name? Is it the fact that, at $99, it would cost us just as much to own one as a real, actual, iPhone 3G? Answer: it's all of those things. We're getting one.

BlackBerry App World launching in more countries, languages this month RIM is expanding the reach of its on-device software catalog -- the so-called App World -- by taking it to ten new countries by the end of this month: Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Ireland, Austria, Luxembourg, Portugal, the Netherlands and Belgium. To accommodate the expansion, the company is also adding support for "more languages" (though it isn't saying exactly how many) including French, Italian, Spanish, and German. What's more, RIM plans on adding new software categories to make finding what you're looking for just a little bit easier and will be adding support for URLs, which -- when opened from your BlackBerry's browser -- will take you straight to an app's page in App World. No word on when the new features will launch, but RIM says it'll be firmed up "in the next few weeks."

7Digital to debut BlackBerry direct music downloads Even if no one's ever bought a BlackBerry (or, for that matter, a BlockBerry) for its multimedia prowess, things are starting to get a little interesting for the rock'n'rollers over at RIM. According to the Telegraph (UK), the music download site 7Digital will be launching a service for U2's new favorite handset this September. Based around an application that will be available in BlackBerry's App World, customers will be able to download music (with "most" tracks being DRM-free) directly to their phone for 79 cents a pop. Are you excited? No? Well, RIM CEO Jim Balsillie sure is. According to the article, he believes that the market's experiencing nothing less than the "birth of digital music 2.0." What do you think?

LG Application Store launches, Asia-Pacific gets first dibs With both platform makers and hardware makers suddenly deciding to get into the app store game en masse, it feels like we're risking over-saturation -- but that's not deterring LG from launching its plainly-named LG Application Store. The service will be targeting Windows Mobile devices in the Asia-Pacific region first -- Australia and Singapore to start -- with the goal of getting more than 2,000 apps available by year end. LG's making SDKs openly available for interested devs which should spark some interest -- but without a more global launch and with upcoming competition from Windows Marketplace and others, it seems they've got an uphill battle to garner any success.

LG's LX290 for Sprint touts "compact and sleek productivity" "Compact and sleek productivity" might be a bit over the top, but the bottom line is this: at $29.99 on contract after rebates, LG's new LX290 for Sprint is one of the cheapest ways to get Sprint Navigation and email access in your pocket. The slider packs a 1.3 megapixel camera for basic shooting needs, instant messaging capability, AGPS (naturally), a 320 x 240 display, and a 2.5mm audio jack -- we would've preferred 3.5, of course, but at that bargain-basement price, we'll take what we can get. The phone is available now, so go on, get productive.