Sony drops Fresh Start fee after backlash...

Sony tonight has already dropped the fee for its Fresh Start program less than a day after it was introduced. While the VAIO TZ offered with Fresh Start does not come with the option enabled by default, the company now allows the option to remove trial software to be enabled for free versus the $50 cost from before. Sony has not officially stated its reasons for the decision but is known to be reacting to criticisms for charging extra to remove unwanted software.

CommuniGate to offer push email, OTA sync for iPhone...

CommuniGate Systems recently announced that it is ready to supply iPhone users with push mail, calendar, and contact syncing using over-the-air Airsync, without requiring a Microsoft Exchange server. The software, called CommuniGate Pro also works with both Linux and Windows systems, as well as the Mac. While pricing and availability for the service was not available, CommuniGate showed Communigate Pro at its booth at the VON.x Expo.

iSoftphone update refines performance, more...

Hamburg-based Xnet Communications recently unveiled iSoftphone 2.1, an update to its internet telephony software, which features vastly revamped code and several new features. Xnet has reprogrammed several of the key features, giving the application enhanced performance and functionality, and also laying the groundwork for future implementations. The update is free for all users with Upgrade Protection, while new users can pay $50 for a license.

Vaja offers new cases for iPhone, Nano 3G, MBA...

Leather product manufacturer Vaja today unveiled three new cases for the iPhone, MacBook Air, and iPod nano. The Retro Slim Bag for iPhone is a sleeve-style case that features an open top, but completely covers the rest of the device. It is available in blue with a beige vertical stripe, but as with any Vaja product, can be configured with any color, starting at $40. A similar sleeve for the MacBook Air is also available, except with a closing flap, for $180.

Apple airs new banner ad on NY Times, WSJ...

Echoing the earlier advertisement shown on various websites, Apple has revealed another "Get a Mac" banner ad which is currently showing on both the Wall Street Journal and New York Times homepages. The ad begins with Mac and PC standing in a banner on the side, with PC expressing dissatisfaction with an inflammatory remark made by CNET regarding how Vista is "one of the biggest blunders in technology."

Mac mini to soon receive complete overhaul...

The Mac mini is supposedly getting an internal overhaul, rather than fading into nonexistence, as popular belief would indicate. According to AppleInsider, the miniature computer is to see the 45-nanometer Core 2 Duo chip, starting at 2.1GHz, with an 800MHz frontside buss and the Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor. This alleged update comes after almost a year of shipping the same model, without any major changes.

Teclast aims directly at iPhone with M26...

A new media player by Asia's Teclast is directly targeting the iPhone and the iPod touch. Like the Apple devices, the M26 is almost entirely touchscreen controlled, but Teclast is specifically marketing the player as using the same type of capacitive technology as the iPhone, permitting light finger gestures. The M26 differs mainly by way of having a 2.6-inch, 400x200 screen, and playing AVI, RealVideo and even Flash video files. Neither the iPhone nor the Touch support Flash.

Refurbs: New, old generation iMacs from $999...

Apple is offering several refurbished iMacs, both new and old generation, starting from $999. The white plastic iMac models offered are the 20-inch 2.16GHz and 24-inch 2.16GHz versions, both of which come with 1GB of memory, and a 250GB hard drive. While the 20-inch model features an ATI Radeon X1600 graphics processor with 128MB of texture memory, the 24-inch comes with an nVidia GeForce 7300GT, also with 128MB of memory. Apple is selling the 20-inch for $1099, and the 24-inch for $1399.

Meizu M8 interface evolves...

The interface for Meizu's iPhone clone, the M8 -- also known as the MiniOne -- is undergoing subtle changes, according to various reports. Meizu itself is now claiming to have added more touch software to the phone, though it is not disclosing specifics. The company should eventually release a framework describing the entire interface of the phone, a potentially risky move given the device's association with the iPhone and Apple's plans for a Chinese release.

Myka vows torrent-based rival to Apple TV...

Myka is offering a self-titled media hub it says is a viable alternative for those who want most of the features of the Apple TV but a less restricted environment. Rather than depend on a closed download system such as iTunes, the Myka depends chiefly on BitTorrent downloads to accomplish its download goals. The peer sharing format not only reduces dependence on any one server for content but also theoretically allows downloads of content beyond the typical music and videos, according to the company. The system is designed to simplify the experience and also includes web access so the owner can queue up content away from home.

Palm chief: no new Treos until summer...

No new Treo smartphones are expected to appear until the summer, Palm chief Ed Colligan said late yesterday during the conference call for the company's latest quarterly results. The company founder warned that quarterly losses were likely to continue during the spring quarter as the Sunnyvale, California-based company would not have an updated model during the period, which runs until the end of May. Palm will primarily focus on expanding the reach of the Centro to Europe and other carriers until it can release a new Treo before the end of the summer, Colligan said.

Dell Latitude E4000 to chase Air, X300...

Dell's Latitude E4000 series will more explicitly target the same very thin, advanced technology field covered by Apple's MacBook Air and Lenovo's ThinkPad X300, according to leaks continued today by Engadget. While both the E4200 and E4300 will offer thinner LED-backlit, 12-inch displays, the E4200 will be far thinner than earlier Latitudes and will measure between 0.6 and 0.8 inches thick and will optimally weigh just 2.2 versus the 3 of its challengers. This will in part come from its storage: the E4200 will require either a 32GB or 64GB solid-state drive instead of a conventional hard disk.

Geophoto 2 adds GPS coordinates, map view...

Ovolab has begun shipping Geophoto 2, the next major edition of its geotagging application for photos. The software helps users sort images by where they were shot, assigning them to locations on a 3D globe with a free-roaming camera. Tagging is said to be much simpler in v2, thanks to a map view which allows positioning at street level. Additionally, photos can be tied to track points from a GPS receiver.

ReelSmart Motion Blur OpenFX arrives on Macs...

RE:Vision Effects has announced that the OpenFX version of its ReelSmart Motion Blur plug-ins, previously only available for Windows, are now out for Mac OS X as well as 32- and 64-bit Linux systems. Motion Blur applies or removes its titular effect to various video formats; it attempts to make the results more natural by tracking each pixel, and calculating expected movement. The software works with a variety apps, such as Assimilate Scratch.

AT&T's 700MHz wins require $1.3b up front...

AT&T's gains for wireless space in the FCC 700MHz auction will cost it enough to require a major downpayment, according to a filing by the cellular carrier. The company explains that its new space will demand a $1.3 billion down payment within the next ten days and that it will need to take on a debt load of $5.3 billion to pay for the remaining amount. The figures make up a significant portion of the overall auction, which resulted in a reportedly record-setting $18.9 billion in net bids spread across a mix of large telecoms companies as well as regional businesses.

Equinux updates MediaCentral, VPN Tracker...

Equinux has updated two of its key programs, MediaCentral and VPN Tracker. MediaCentral operates as a kind of Mac equivalent to Windows Media Center, combining the playback of several types of media within one program; users can not only load music, photos and videos, but DVD movies and TV, the latter offering the option of IPTV or digital broadcast. Version 2.7 retools the TV engine for better video quality and faster channel switching, as well automatic timeshifting when hitting pause. The software costs $30.

Apple faces Time Machine lawsuit...

Apple is now facing its first lawsuit involving Time Machine, court filings show. The Texan company Mirror Worlds has accused Apple of infringing on four patents: three of these relate directly to a "document stream operating system," while the fourth covers an attached information management system. The document streams depicted group many different file types together, arranged chronologically and in piles; this most closely resembles the Time Machine backup software in Mac OS X Leopard, but may also cover the sorting system on iPods and iPhones, for chronological items like podcasts.

Sony charging extra to remove PC trial apps...

Sony has begun offering Fresh Start, a controversial practice to clean its systems of unnecessary software. Initially available only with the VAIO TZ ultraportable, the option removes both VAIO-specific programs as well as games and other trial software. The practice is meant to "free up valuable hard drive space and conserve memory and processing power" before the system ever leaves the factory, according to Sony.

Patent dispute may block Blu-ray, cellphones...

A patent infringement claim may lead to blocks against importing both Blu-ray technology as well as cellphones and other storage, the US International Trade Commission said today. The potential impasse has its roots in a complaint by patent holder and Columbia University emeritus professor Gertrude Rothschild, who claims that bringing numerous foreign-made devices with short-wave lasers and LEDs violates her own claims to the technology in the US. Most companies affected by the dispute are those producing Blu-ray optical storage drives and involve chief backer Sony as well as LG, Pioneer, Samsung, and Sharp.