Toshiba's new Regza WL800A HDTV hooks up with your smartphone via MHL

The MHL Consortium wants to banish HDMI ports from our phones in favor of its Mobile High-Definition Link connection, and the tech has found its way into handsets like the GSII and the EVO 3D. But until now, there were no TVs to connect to. Toshiba's latest in the Regza line, the WL800A, is the lone set in its 2011 lineup to pack the 5-pin port that pulls 1080p from your mobile device and puts it up on a 46-inch or 55-inch edge-lit LED panel. Best part is, the MHL connection pushes power back into your phone at the same time video is streaming -- so you don't have to worry about your phone dying on you in the middle of your mobile movie marathon. Currently for sale in the land of Oz for $2,329 (46-inch) and $3,179 (55-inch) AUD, the WL800 won't be coming to America. However, now that the GSII has landed stateside let's hope some MHL-equipped TVs follow suit.

Garmin launches StreetPilot onDemand iPhone app, offers transit schedules

Garmin is best known for its in-car navigation systems, but today delved deeper into the realm of personal navigation with a brand new iPhone app for the eternally lost. For a dollar, you'll get standard walking, driving and public transportation directions, but go premium for $2.99 a month or $29.99 for the year, and you'll cop more add-ons designed to transform your iPhone into a full-fledged PND. Like the standard iPhone mapping system or HopStop, the subscription-based version of this app lets you integrate public transportation into your journey -- but the added feature here is the ability to view public transit schedules like you can in the Google Maps app for Android. It also has spoken turn-by-turn directions, Garmin's traffic routing and Google search, making it a handy alternative to a clunky navigation system.

Google explores re-ranking search results using +1 button data

Google is making plans to turn its +1 button into a crowdsourcing tool that helps it re-order search results and fight web spam. While not surprising, the move would bring Google's search engine into the social networking era, while simultaneously creating a new avenue for blackhats to manipulate search results and potentially incurring the wrath of trust-busting authorities.
Google confirmed its plans in an e-mail to Wired.com.
"Google will study the clicks on +1 buttons as a signal that influences the ranking and appearance of websites in search results," a spokesman wrote. "The purpose of any ranking signal is to improve overall search quality. For +1's and other social ranking signals, as with any new ranking signal, we'll be starting carefully and learning how those signals are related to quality."
But these plans are a touchy subject for the search giant, especially given the scrutiny that Google is under from regulators in Washington and Europe over complaints that the company's results favor its own products over those of other companies.
As if to underscore that point, Google prefaced its admission of the +1 search integration project to Wired.com with a statement downplaying its potential significance: "There are more than 200 signals that we use to determine the rank of a website, and last year we made more than 500 improvements to the algorithm."
Introduced in March, the +1 sharing button debuted with little incentive for web surfers to click on it. If you +1-ed a story on a website that embedded the button

Robots aren't good at talking to themselves

Have you ever looked at your smartphone or laptop -- or even a robot, if you're lucky enough to come in contact with one -- and wondered, "What the heck are you thinking?" Well, if so, here's your answer.
Cornell's Creative Machines Lab posted a video this week of a computer's inner monologue, and it's making the rounds on the Internet not because the machine is having profound thoughts about world domination or the future of technology -- but because the discussion it has with itself is totally ridiculous.
Researchers used the "Cleverbot" for this test case, which is regarded as one of researchers' best attempts to mimic human conversation patterns with computer intelligence. Cleverbot actually "learns" from the conversations it has as it has them, which is fairly impressive, as this episode of WNYC's "Radiolab" podcast discusses at great length
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Facebook pays $40,000 to bug spotters

Facebook wants you to try to hack into its site -- and if you succeed, it will pay you for the details.Facebook said this week that that it has paid out more than $40,000 under its new "bug bounty" security initiative. Launched three weeks ago, Facebook's program invites security researchers -- both the professional kind and hacker hobbyists -- to send it the details of any Facebook vulnerabilities that they uncover. If the report checks out, Facebook will pay a finder's fee of at least $500.
It's willing to go higher for extra-impressive bug spotting.
"We've already paid a $5,000 bounty for one really good report," Facebook Chief Security Officer Joe Sullivan wrote in a blog post. "One person has already received more than $7,000 for six different issues flagged."
Although the social networking has its own security team, Facebook launched its bug bounty program to tap into the collective wisdom of the site's 750 million users.
"We hire the best and brightest, and have implemented numerous protocols," Sullivan wrote. "We realize, though, that there are many talented and well-intentioned security experts around the world who don't work for Facebook."

Sony Ericsson Announcements: New Xperia Neo V & All 2011 Xperia Phones Getting 2.3.4

Sony Ericsson just announced a new Android phone that looks pretty impressive. They unveiled the Xperia Neo V and, although most of their phones have been rather drab for a while, they are apparently stepping up their game now. The phone has some decent specs and is actually fairly attractive as well:

• "Facebook inside Xperia"
• "3D sweep panorama" feature = records and plays 3D when connected to a 3D TV's HDMI input
• Available in white, blue or silver
• 3.7-inch display at 480x854 resolution
• Reality display powered by Sony's Mobile Bravia Engine
• Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread
• Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 processor at 1GHz
• 5MP rear camera
• VA front-facing camera
• 320MB internal storage
• 2GB microSD card included

Motorola Titanium Announced, Available For SouthernLINC

Motorola brought out this rugged device at CES, and just recently, finally made it available for SouthernLINC users. The super rugged device that meets MilSpec 810G for dust, shock, vibration, low pressure, solar radiation, high temperature and low temperature just hit the shelves. The device comes with push-to-talk, as well as Android 2.1, and Motorola's Blur user interface.

The device comes with a $149.99 price tag for the people willing to sign 2 years of their loyalty with the southern carrier. Reducing the contracted period means you can also add $100 to the total price.

[Exclusive] Droid Bionic Amazing CostCo Deal $299 Includes Extra Battery, Dock & More

We have an exclusive for you today. One of our tipster/sources let us know that CostCo will be offering an amazing exclusive deal on the Droid Bionic. The price is the same as through Verizon, $299.99 on contract, but with that you also get an extra Battery, a charger for that battery, a Docking Station and a Navigation Dock included! Supposedly, they will be receiving their displays on September 8th, and the phone soon thereafter.

EVo 3D Now Getting Updated Again

The Evo3D had a few issues with the last few updates it received, but word on the street is, this one is good. Users have reported improved 4G strength, better battery life, and louder speakers.

TouchDroid Team Hitting Rough Patch

Millions of people went out to stores to buy HP's TouchPad that was recently un-canceled, but it seems the guys that wanted Android on it are having issues. The team is not having issues software wise, but apparently the porters are not getting along as well as we would like. A few days ago the guys had a big fallout that included name calling, but most importantly, splitting the team into two. This means we are likely to see results either come around with half the sped it would have taken before, or twice the speed thanks to competition.

Nonetheless, its sad to see a team that was once working on the greater good for humanity go down the drain like that

HTC Holiday caught again The Wild, 4.5 inches of LTE heading for AT&T

HTC Holiday, gets caught on camera. Engadget got their hands on some pictures and the specs, and it looks like another hit for HTC.

Some of the Specs are:

• 4.5 inch qHD display
• 1.2GHz CPU (of the dual-core variety, natch)
• Full Gigabyte of RAM
• Android 2.3.4
• Sense 3.0.
• LTE radio, which should be AT&T's first handset using the new 4G network

Looking forward to more from this phone and how it performs!!!

[Rumor] Verizon Droid Prime Time! Exclusive in Oct; The Real Reason No SGS2

According to a rumored source at BGR, the real reason Verizon passed up the Samsung Galaxy S II was because they will be exclusively getting the Samsung Droid/Nexus Prime in October. If this is true, that actually makes a lot of sense. Why carry another Samsung phone that would compete directly with an exclusive flagship like the Droid Prime?

Apparently, under Verizon this new device, with model number SCH-i515, will be called the Droid Prime instead of the Nexus Prime. Furthermore, it is rumored that the phone will be the first phone to come with Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich. Additionally, BGR's source said, “Verizon doesn’t think the Samsung GALAXY S II will be competitive with the iPhone 5 when it launches.”