Best Buy stops selling the TouchPad, HP offers refunds to owners

Tempted by the promise of a $99 TouchPad, in spite of its imminent demise? Well, it looks like American Best Buys won't be enjoying the same liquidation sale as our neighbors to the north. A couple of tipsters have reported that the big box electronics retailer has pulled the webOS tablets from its shelves and is shipping them back to HP. The slates have also disappeared from Best Buy's website, though you can buy $30 screen protectors for one. You can still try to score one on the cheap straight from HP, but both the 16GB and 32GB models are currently listed as out of stock. Don't get upset if you already plunked down $400 for 10-inches of webOS goodness -- HP will refund you the difference. Call up the company or the retail partner you purchased it from, and ask. Just be prepared to sit on hold with all the rest of the folks trying to get their cash back.

Week in tech: what's HP thinking edition?

Firefox 6 ships, but we shouldn't really pay attention: Mozilla has released Firefox 6, with a few visual and performance tweaks, but not much else that anybody will notice. The organization has announced that it plans to remove any obvious visible indication of the version number from the browser; a decision that's left many more than a little displeased.
Mad about metered billing? They were in 1886, too: Think you're the first generation of consumers to gripe about iffy phone connections, pricey subscription rates, and metered billing? Think again. Let's go back to the 1880s and meet the founding generation of telephone troublemakers.
Google, needing patents, buys Motorola wireless for $12.5 billion: Google will acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, giving Google control of 24,000 mobile-related patents in a move that the company hopes will preserve Android as an open platform.
HP to follow IBM, ditch its PC business: HP is ready to abandon its PC heritage as it looks for growth from the enterprise. It's also washing its hands of webOS, discontinuing tablets, and Pre phones. It announced Thursday that it plans to discontinue all current devices running webOS, including the TouchPad and Pre phones. This led us to ask whether Apotheker needs an apothecary, exploring why HP is exiting the PC business. So HP is leaving the PC business and killing off the Pre and TouchPad, while spending well over $10 billion on a software company. We looked to see whether there's method to HP's madness.
Microsoft starts to talk Windows 8, all but confirms App Store: Microsoft is finally starting to talk in earnest about Windows 8 in the run-up to its BUILD conference. An App Store for Windows is now all but confirmed, and Hyper-V for desktop users seems a significant possibility.
Teenage girls' raunchy Facebook photos are Constitutionally protected speech: A federal judge smacks down school administrators who disciplined three high school girls for posting racy pictures of themselves on Facebook, even though they had nothing to do with the school or the girls' extracurricular activities.
Scenes from an Anonymous protest: Did San Francisco's subway "pull a Mubarak"? : Members of Anonymous last night reasserted their right to use cell phones in San Francisco subway stations. But civil liberties groups still want to know why the subway system "pulled a Mubarak" on protesters last week by cutting off mobile access just before a demonstration.
Does not compute: court says only hard math is patentable: In the course of invalidating a software patent, a federal appeals court has provided the most thorough legal defense of software patents we've seen from the judiciary. It's not very convincing.
Native Client enabled in Chrome 14 beta channel release: The next major version of Google's Web browser will include support for Google's Native Client framework enabled by default.
Tiered pricing comes to the Internet backbone: Transit providers, which connect smaller ISPs into the Brobdingnagian network we call the "Internet," are moving away from a constant price-per-Mbps pipe. Newer strategies bill by how far the data needs to be moved and by the level of demand.

Meet Patty, Microsoft's Surface 2.0 stress test robot

Locked behind a gated fence and unseen by the public until now, lives Patty, Microsoft's Surface 2.0 stress test robot. Designed to see just how much Gates' touchscreen can take, this lady bot uses 80 compressed air-driven probes, six motors and a robotic moving head to apply maximum stress to the display. It works as such: by giving Patty a command, engineers can move probes across the screen at 25 inches per second -- mimicking the movement of fingers, hands and whatever else it might encounter IRL. With so much multitasking, it's no wonder she comes with a giant red emergency stop button -- just in case. See Patty do her thing by hitting the source link below.

Sony Digital Recording Binoculars look like military night vision goggles, cost almost as much

How does $1,399 for a pair of binoculars sound? When they also shoot 1080p HD video and 7.1 megapixel stills -- perhaps slightly less ridiculous. Sony's launching a new category of high-end binoculars with its new DEV-3 and DEV-5, which offer camera-like features and are priced at $1,399 and $1,999, respectively. Each pair includes two Exmor R CMOS sensors for native 3D video capture, dual f/1.8-3.4, 0.5-10x optical zoom lenses, and a pair of 1,227-dot viewfinders. While the pricier model adds a 10x digital zoom, GPS, and accessories like a carrying case and neck strap, those features don't really justify a $600 jump in price -- if you can live without GPS, it probably makes sense to skip the DEV-5. There's also Memory Stick Pro Duo and SDXC support, stereo microphones with an audio input jack, and HDMI out. Coined as the world's first binoculars with HD video recording, we wouldn't expect there to be a terribly huge market for these pricey specs at launch, but if you've been looking for a way to record while bird watching, catching close-ups of the action at a game, or whatever it is you look at through your apartment window, then look for these to hit stores in November.

Apple cracks down on counterfeit products sold in NYC, files lawsuit against Queens vendors

There may be more than a few fake Apple Stores in China, but for the moment, Cupertino's anti-KIRF crusade seems focused squarely on New York City. According to Reuters, Apple has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against two stores in Queens, alleging that they sold unauthorized cases, headphones and other accessories for the iPhone, iPad and iPod. In the complaint, the company claims that the products in question were all emblazoned with its familiar fruit logo, along with the phrase, "Designed by Apple in California. Assembled in China." The suit also demands that one of the stores, called Apple Story (seriously), change its name to avoid confusion with the real retail outlet and that both vendors disclose full lists of people who both supplied and purchased the goods.

It all began when company representatives visited the Chinatown-area stores on "multiple occasions over several weeks," where they bought and examined the items, described in court records as "exact duplicates" of their authentic counterparts. On July 27th, Apple executed a few ex parte seizure warrants, which allowed authorities to seize any goods bearing its logo. US District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto has already granted an injunction to stop the stores from selling the alleged knockoffs, but hasn't yet decided whether Apple Story will have to change its name. The complaint also seeks undisclosed monetary damages and asks that all existing counterfeit goods be destroyed, though court documents suggest that both sides are close to reaching a deal. Neither Apple nor the defendants have commented on the accusations, but we'll let you know as soon as we learn more.

In the meantime, check out this KIRF "iPhone 5" we found in Beijing -- a Java-powered handset that's slimmer than the Galaxy S II and a bit laggy, but boasts a multitouch capacitive screen. Asking price? ¥680, or about $106.

Thrustmaster unveils Ferrari F458 racing wheel and TH8 RS shifter, dares you to get fast and furious

Is that regular ol' Xbox 360 controller leaving you unfulfilled after a marathon session of Forza Motorsport 4? Don't fret, Thrustmaster has announced the launch of its Ferrari 458 (F458) Italia Racing Wheel for Microsoft's gaming console. The 11-inch wheel features a rubberized grip to stay comfy, built-in metal paddle shifters, a Manettino dial for mid-lap adjustments and progressive resistance to keep you on the straight and narrow. Not wanting to leave PS3 and PC racers in its dust, the company also revealed the TH8 RS gear shifter -- which connects to the T500 RS or the outfit's other PC wheel controllers via USB. This bad boy lets you release your inner Michael Schumacher with either H-pattern or sequential configurations plus 360-degree rotation adjustment to tailor the gearbox to your liking. Both the TH8 RS and the aforementioned F458 will be hitting your garage... er, game room in October for $180 and $90, respectively. Check out the full PR for the pair after the break, and make sure you fasten your seatbelt.

HTC announces September meetup event on Facebook, new phones on the way?

It looks like HTC may have some news in store for us on September 1st, when the company holds one of its public meetups in London. The folks over at Pocket-Lint noticed the event on HTC's Facebook page today, where the manufacturer posted an open invitation for the public to "come party" and "see what's next." At this point, it's hard to tell whether or not HTC will actually unveil anything in the way of new hardware, though there have been rumors swirling around a possible September release date for its Ruby and Bliss handsets, coupled with leaks of its forthcoming Puccini tablet. Plus, as Pocket-Lint observes, HTC's last public meetup came in the wake of the Sensation's release, so recent history suggests there may be something afoot this time, as well. We'll have to wait and see how it all shakes out, but you can hit up the source link for more information on attending the event, which is open on a first-come, first-served basis.

Corsair adds 90GB SSDs to Force 3 / GT lines

Been thinking Corsair's Force SSD lineup was too small at 60GB, but too darn capacious at 120GB? Well Goldilocks, we've got good news, as the company's unveiled two middling models that might be just right. We begin with the 90GB Force 3, which wields 550MB/s reads and 500MB/s writes at a $159 price point. For an additional $40, you can bump speeds up by 5MB/s on both counts with the identically sized Force GT. Just like their smaller and larger brethren, the two additions tote SandForce SF-228x controllers as they haul bits over SATA 6Gbps. They're supposedly available "immediately," but, like AnandTech, we couldn't find either in stock. If middle of the road is your thing, then Godspeed, but we'll stick with the big one.

PS Vita to pack 512MB of RAM, support cross-game voice chat

What's the difference between Sony's PlayStation Vita and the PS3? About 256MB of RAM, apparently. In a recent interview with Eurogamer, Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida confirmed that the forthcoming handheld will boast a full 512MB of RAM (compared to the PS3's 256MB), allowing the Vita to support cross-game voice chat via its Party feature. Yoshida's confirmation effectively debunks earlier rumors that Sony would be halving the Vita's RAM, in order to compete with the 3DS' lower price, though the console does feature comparatively less V-RAM (just 128MB, versus the PS3's 256MB). According to the executive, however, that disparity won't make too much of a difference on the gaming experience, due to changes in the Vita's display resolution. "The resolution on the PS Vita screen is much lower," Yoshida said. "Even though it's four times the resolution of PSP, compared to the console, the amount of data you have to push is much smaller." The proof, of course, is in the pudding, but unfortunately, we probably won't be tasting it for a while.

Did Apple shrink the Samsung Galaxy S in Dutch lawsuit filing?

We haven't had a chance to head on down to The Hague to have a look-see for ourselves, but Dutch tech site Webwereld spotted some more inconsistencies in Apple's Samsung lawsuit filings. This time the culprit is a shrunken Galaxy S, standing side-by-side with an identically tall iPhone 3G -- when in reality the Samsung phone is seven millimeters taller than its Apple counterpart, and slightly wider as well. The image, filed in the Netherlands, is part of an intellectual property suit against Samsung, and came to light just days after accusations that Apple manipulated photos of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 that it submitted to a German court. While misleading, this latest error isn't nearly as concerning as last week's shrunken Tab -- which could easily be described as image manipulation, considering that the tablet included in that filing represented an incorrect 4:3 aspect ratio, while the Samsung device has a 16:10 display.

The 100th Engadget Mobile Podcast, live at 5PM ET!

Well, it's been less than two weeks, and Apple's already pumping out another iOS 5 beta build. Those of you holding Apple developer credentials can now mosey on over to the source link below, and get your hands on iOS 5 beta 6. As you might expect, this slice of Apple pie brings with it new betas for iTunes, XCode, and Apple TV. As per usual, we'll keep our eyes out for anything noteworthy, but if you've already got the new build going, give us a holler in the comments below.

Sprint in alleged talks to acquire Clearwire, cablers huddle 'round for some LTE pie

'Tis the season for patent disputes and wireless industry takeovers, or so a recent glut of moves would indicate. Shedding a little light on Clearwire's recently announced allegiance to LTE, Bloomberg is reporting that the company's currently in talks to sell its business to Sprint, and perhaps secure the funding it so desperately needs for a network build out. According to several insider sources, the third place wireless carrier's considering a joint investment (amongst other options) with Comcast, Cablevision and Cox, that would give the cablers a bundled high-speed, wireless broadband competitive advantage, and Sprint an LTE boost in its battle against AT&T and Verizon's rival 4G networks. None of the players in this rumored takeover have yet to comment on the purported transaction, although the business gossip has had quite an uplifting effect on Clearwire's shares. While we can't speculate as to the veracity of the claim, we know one thing for sure -- that LTE network's not gonna build itself.