It’s been an awful long time in coming, but AT&T’s customized remix of Nokia’s lovely E71 — the E71x — is now available for sale direct from the carrier’s site. As was revealed a little over a month ago, pricing comes in at just $99.99 on contract after rebate, which seems like a steal for a device with this level of capability and sex appeal.

Of course, you’ll need to be okay with S60 3.2 — but if you can get past that, you’ve got a gorgeous all-metal shell, full QWERTY, HSDPA, 3.2 megapixel cam, and WiFi waiting for you. What now, Bold?

[Thanks, Ivaylo]

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Nokia E71x now available from AT&T

This one’s been in the oven for some time, but at long last, we’re finally able to see official images of the 11.6-inch Aspire One netbook that we first heard about in early March. Obviously aimed at the likes of Dell’s Mini 12, this larger-than-usual netbook still packs the all-too-familiar suite of “netbook internals,” but that doesn’t mean it can’t look pretty being average.

The relocated VGA port is sure to become this unit’s signature (or… something), right beside the sleek overall appearance and nicely spaced keyboard. If we didn’t know any better, we’d say we see a little X-Slim in here — right? One more look after the break, or you can opt for a boatload down in the read link.

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Acer’s Aspire One 751 netbook gets officially pictured

Trent Reznor, the leader of the band Nine Inch Nails is pretty upset that Apple has rejected the latest version of his iPhone app. And rightfully so, the reason for the rejection once again points to Apple’s inconsistencies when it comes to the App Store approval process. While we pointed that out yesterday, Reznor pulls no punches in pointing it out today, in the NIN’s forums.

Here’s what Reznor had to say (warning, it gets pretty graphic):

Now, “The Downward Spiral” the album is not available anywhere in the iPhone app. The song “The Downward Spiral” I believe is in a podcast that can be streamed to the app.

Thanks Apple for the clear description of the problem – as in, what do you want us to change to get past your stupid fucking standards?

And while we’re at it, I’ll voice the same issue I had with Wal-Mart years ago, which is a matter of consistency and hypocrisy. Wal-Mart went on a rampage years ago insisting all music they carry be censored of all profanity and “clean” versions be made for them to carry. Bands (including Nirvana) tripped over themselves editing out words, changing album art, etc to meet Wal-Mart’s standards of decency – because Wal-Mart sells a lot of records. NIN refused, and you’ll notice a pretty empty NIN section at any Wal-Mart. My reasoning was this: I can understand if you want the moral posturing of not having any “indecent” material for sale – but you could literally turn around 180 degrees from where the NIN record would be and purchase the film “Scarface” completely uncensored, or buy a copy of Grand Theft Auto where you can be rewarded for beating up prostitutes. How does that make sense?

You can buy The Downward Fucking Spiral on iTunes, but you can’t allow an iPhone app that may have a song with a bad word somewhere in it. Geez, what if someone in the forum in our app says FUCK or CUNT? I suppose that also falls into indecent material. Hey Apple, I just got some SPAM about fucking hot asian teens THROUGH YOUR MAIL PROGRAM. I just saw two guys having explicit anal sex right there in Safari! On my iPhone!

Come on Apple, think your policies through and for fuck’s sake get your app approval scenario together.

Below, find the rejection letter that Apple sent NIN’s developer:

Follow-up: XXXXXXXXXX

Dear Craig,

Thank you for submitting nin: access to the App Store. We’ve reviewed nin: access and determined that we cannot post this version of your iPhone application to the App Store at this time because it contains objectionable content which is in violation of Section 3.3.12 from the iPhone SDK Agreement which states:

“Applications must not contain any obscene, pornographic, offensive or defamatory content or materials of any kind (text, graphics, images, photographs, etc.), or other content or materials that in Apple’s reasonable judgement may be found objectionable by iPhone or iPod touch users.”

The objectionable content referenced in this email is “The Downward Spiral”. Since the app is live on the App store, please make the necessary changes to the application as soon as possible, and resubmit your binary to iTunes Connect. Thank you

Regards,

iPhone Developer Program

Here’s an update from the actual developer as well:

v1.0 is live. v1.0.3 got rejected due to content yet the app has no content in it. this was mainly a stability release to fix the bug that crashes the app for international users. the bug was fixed 24 hours after 1.0 went live and we have been waiting for apple to approve it ever since. meanwhile the app continues to get a growing number of 1 star ratings from international users understandably frustrated by the bug. but looks like our hands are tied.

apple is not allowing us to make the current app more stable because there is “objectionable” content online (yes on the internet). so we are essentially not allowed to fixed bugs unrelated to the issue.

we removed the song “The Downward Spiral” from the server, hoping to appease apple and get this bug fix through. however i have yet to receive a reply.

So NIN went as far as removing the supposedly offending content from its servers to appease Apple. Pretty crazy if you ask me.

[via Reznor's tweets]

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The rest is here:
Trent Reznor Responds To Apple: You Want Obscene, I’ll Show You Obscene

Go ahead and grab the salt shaker, ’cause this one’s nowhere near carved in stone… or is it? A breaking report from The New York Times has it that Amazon will introduce a larger version of its Kindle e-reader “as early as this week,” one that’s tailored for “displaying newspapers, magazines and perhaps textbooks.” If you’ll recall, magazine publisher Hearst made its intentions public to produce such a device earlier this year, noting that a larger panel would be more conducive to traditional print media layouts, and thus, additional revenue from ads. The article also notes that Plastic Logic will “start making digital newspaper readers by the end of the year.”

Coincidentally (or not), the Wall Street Journal also published a report this evening that dug deeper into the aforementioned Hearst deal. As the story goes, a number of big-shots in the publishing industry are banding together to set their own subscription rates (rather than go through a middleman such as Amazon), and this writeup asserts that Plastic Logic’s reader won’t actually roll out until “early next year” (as we’d heard previously). If you’re seriously able to handle yet another twist in this madness, WSJ also points out that “people familiar with the matter” have stated that Apple is “readying a device that may make it easier to read digital books and periodicals,” but it’s hard to say if this is simply regurgitation of unfounded rumors already going around or something entirely more legitimate.

All in all, it’s clear that flagging print publications are desperate for a device that caters to its layout and allows them to regulate rates — only time will tell if there’s room for two, three or possibly more of these so-called “big-screen e-readers” in the world, but this week definitely just got a whole lot more interesting.

Update: Press event invite just received, it’s on for Wednesday!

Read – New York Times report
Read – Wall Street Journal report

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NYT: Big-screen Kindle coming from Amazon “as early as this week”

As promised, I went to go visit the Google goats today — you know, the goats that were brought in to replace lawnmowers in Google’s ever-expanding quest to go more green. I was told the goats would be in the big field at the corner Rengstorff & Amphitheater (on Google’s campus in Mountain View), and sure enough, I found a few hundred of them there. Apparently, the area was previously covered in 4-foot tall brush, but within a few days, the goats had eaten it down to basically nothing (as you can see in the videos and images below).

These goats, which were being picked up today and transported to their next gig (at Morgan Hill), will do this field-clearing once a year for Google, the herder on site told me. He was a bit concerned for the goats because a few of them got sick due to people feeding them flowers (which, apparently, are poisonous to them), he told me. PETA, would no doubt be concerned about the lack of shelter for when it was raining, and the electric fence that encircled the goats.

But all in all, it looks like the goats did the job they were brought in for, and were very efficient in doing so. Now, the question of if it cost Google more in both money and fuel to have the goats shipped over to the site versus what it would have been to pay some people to mow the lawn, is a different question. But hey, nevermind that, cute friendly goats!

Check out some pictures below and two videos below that. The Qik video has some more substance, but is much longer and is pretty hard to hear at points due to the wind.

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

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My Day With The Google Goats

Klipsch has never really been a company to cater to the low-end, but there’s likely never been a time in the outfit’s history to better introduce a lower-end pair of earbuds than right now. The Image headphone line, which started in August of 2007 when the X10s launched at $349, has grown a few members since. Today, we’re talking a look — er, a listen, actually — at the $79 Image S4 in-ear headphones, and while these are far from “cheap,” they’re definitely in the realm of feasibility for anyone considering a set of ‘buds that are marginally more awesome than the stock ones bundled with PMPs these days. Head on past the break for a few impressions.

Gallery: Klipsch Image S4 impressions

For starters, we can’t help but remark that these are small — really small. The original Image earbuds were called the planet’s smallest by Klipsch (much to the chagrin of JAYS), and these certainly follow in that lineage. For $79, you get the earbuds, an ear tip cleaning tool, three sets of different-sized ear gels and a swank aluminum case to carry them to and fro. Compared to the $49 Image S2, the S4 has angled nozzles and larger housings, while the S2 has straight nozzles and smaller housings. The 3.5 millimeter input jack is connected to a rubberized, grip-resistant cable that’s around three feet long, with an even left / right cable split hanging around a foot beneath the tips.

For $79, these are definitely well built. From the durable cable to the massively comfortable ear gels, each component screams mid-range despite the price tag. Unlike most earbuds, these boast oval gels — compared to the perfectly round ones elsewhere — and we must say, we dig the difference. The seal on these buds were perfect for us, even mitigating surrounding noise quite well. We were able to listen for a few hours straight with no discomfort to speak of, and generally speaking, we were stoked with the quality of sound. Furthermore, gym rats and runners alike will adore the fit here; unlike most rounded gels, these managed to stay put regardless of activity / sweat. In the past, we’ve found ourselves readjusting the fit every ten minutes or so while jogging, but the Image S4s sat in place during extended motion. Kudos, Klipsch.

The tight seal ensured that bass response was magnificent without being overly punchy, and the heralded “Klipsch sound” is definitely captured here. Of course, that does mean that some of you won’t appreciate the occasionally fatiguing highs, but there’s always (er, sometimes) an equalizer to compensate, right? The bottom line? These are leaps and bound better than the stock earbuds that are tossed in with any portable media player these days, and we’d argue that these are superior to other ‘buds in the $80 to $100 range. So, should you snap a pair of these up when they start shipping en masse this month? If you’ve already set aside $79 for a set of some kind, absolutely. If you’re looking to stay in the $40 to $60 range, we’d still argue that the unique oval gels and fantastic overall sound warrant at least a look. For those with $150 or more waiting for a set of Ultimate Ears, don’t bother laughing as you pass these by, cool?

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Klipsch Image S4 impressions

Ubisoft is set to release a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time 3D remake later this year on XBLA and Gamervision provides us with a first look at actual gameplay.

Read the original: 
Turtles in Time Gets 3D Makeover for Xbox Live Arcade

Available now at $5.99 through the iTunes App Store, Cyan’s Myst for the iPhone weighs in at a hefty 727MB and is nearly a direct port, complete with touchscreen goodness. Continue reading for a video.

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Myst iPhone

This is what happens when a previous-generation MacBook Pro gets run over by a Subaru Outback: it survives. While there may be a few cosmetic defects — cracked display, smashed disc drive, etc., the laptop itself is still functional. Continue reading for a video — courtesy of EnjoyYourDigitalLife.com — and another picture.

(Thanks, Jamie!)

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MacBook Pro Gets Run Over by Subaru Outback, Survives

Set for release in 2010 is Capcom’s Lost Planet 2 for the Xbox 360. This third-person shooter is a followup to the 2006 hit and features a new campaign co-op mode, with 4-player support. Video after the break.

Original post:
New Lost Planet 2 Trailer