ICQ seeks comeback with mobile app update, new iPad version

ICQ, the resilient David Hasselhoff of instant messaging, is updating its app for Android and iOS, as well as its new Windows Phone version. The app already integrates with other platforms like Facebook, AIM and GTalk, but now it'll bring photo and location sharing too, as well as better offline functions so you can read or compose messages without a connection. There's also a new iPad version, although we're not yet sure if it's resolutionary. Either way, ICQ already boasts two million new active users since it launched on mobile platforms four months ago, so perhaps there's room for another rockstar in thispost-SMS world.

Kingston HyperX 3K SSD review round-up: Cheaper than its predecessor and almost as good

Kingston's new HyperX 3K SSD has appeared, powered by a second-generation SandForce SF-2281processor. Sizes ranging from 90GB to 480GB and are appropriately priced between $140 to $700 -- depending on your storage tastes. With a SATA 6Gb/s interface wrapped in a black and aluminum casing, the HyperX 3K looks ready to spar with Intel's similarly SandForce-powered SSDs. Kingston's 2.5-inch drives have also finished the review party circuit, picking up some pretty positive responses. According to Anandtech's testing, the HyperX 3K performs almost as well as its 5K predecessor, landing just behind it for light workload tests (309.4 MB/s on average) and a heavy workload performance (225.8 MB/s) that netted it second place. Overall, they reckon the HyperX 3K is a "no-brainer," offering great performance for less of those hard-earned dollars.

Sony unveils E Series 14P laptops with gesture-based controls

They may not be the thinnest or most powerful machines Sony's ever introduced, but the new trio hopes to catch a few hearts here and there. A follow-up to those flashy VAIOs we saw a while back, these E Series models are each packing a 14-inch, 1366 x 768 display, an Intel Core i3 2550M CPU with 4GB of RAM and your choice of AMD Radeon HD 7670M or Intel HD Graphics 3000 -- all while promising up to seven hours of battery life. Run-of-the-mill specs aside, Sony's Gesture Control feature will allow you to swipe between pages and adjust bits like music playback -- though, at the moment it only works with Windows Media Player, IE9, PowerPoint and PowerDVD. The company's yet to reveal the 14P's price tag

Google Chrome 19 beta brings live tab synching to the fold

You know the score. You've stepped away from your desktop, and then you think to yourself, "Damn. If only I could remember that website I'd just visited." Now, users of Google Chrome's latest beta will no longer have that worry. The latest incarnation of Google's web browser gives users immediate access to all of their tabs, across all devices, which can be found within the new tab window. Here, users will discover an "Other devices" menu that gives quick and easy access to all those sites you just visited -- yet for the life of you, can't seem to remember. According to Google, beta users will see this feature gradually roll out over the coming week. Not a moment too soon, either.

Netflix for Android updated with fresher UI for volume controls, other 'stability improvements'

Heads-up, Android users -- Netflix has just issued a revised build of its app on the aforementioned platform, and while the changelog here is but three points long, they seem to be somewhat significant. For starters, there's a polished user interface, particularly dealing with the volume control function, allowing users to more easily tweak levels as well as fast-forward / rewind. There are also a number of unspecified stability improvements and bug fixes, with some Motorola tablet owners reporting far smoother streaming. Updated it yourself? Let us know how it's going in comments below (and hit the source for a link to Google Play).

Nokia makes Lumia 900 free to all AT&T customers, now through April 21st

Now through April 21st, any AT&T customer who purchases a Lumia 900 will receive a $100 rebate from Nokia -- effectively making the device free. Ostensibly a gesture of goodwill from the Finnish manufacturer, which confirmed that a small number of early handsets shipped with faulty software that caused memory management issues and eventually data connectivity woes. It insists this problem is now fixed, and that come April 16th, all affected consumers may swap their device at any AT&T store or merely download the update. Previously, AT&T had announced a $100 mail-in rebate for newsubscribers that'd purchased the Lumia 900, but thanks to Nokia, it's now effectively free for all. You might wanna jump on this one.

Update: To clear up any confusion on the rebate process, Nokia states, "Every individual who has already purchased a Nokia Lumia 900 - or who will purchase one between now and April 21st – will receive a $100 credit to their AT&T bill from Nokia." Hope this helps!

Apple publishes support page for Flashback malware, is working on a fix

After the Flashback / Flashfake Mac trojan was exposed by Russian site Dr. Web, Apple has finally responded by publishing a support page about the issue and promising a fix. If you haven't heard by now, the malware exploits a flaw in the Java Virtual Machine, which Oracle pushed a fix for back in February, but Apple didn't patch until a botnet consisting of as many as 650,000 Macs was identified on March 4th. Antivirus maker Kaspersky has confirmed the earlier findings, and released a free tool affected users can run to remove the trojan from their computers. Other than the update already delivered for computers running OS 10.6 and 10.7 Apple recommends users on 10.5 and earlier disable Java in their browser preferences. What isn't mentioned however, is when its fix is incoming or any timetable on its efforts with international ISPs to cut off the IP addresses used by the network. This is not the first timeMacs have fallen prey to malware and as their market share grows will likely not be the last, so don't think just opting for OS X is automatically keeping you a step ahead security-wise. Check the links below for more information about what the malware does, and how to get rid of it.

T-Mobile hands out press invites to One S event on April 18th

We knew T-Mobile has been planning to release its version of the HTC One S sometime in the near future, but we haven't received any official word on exactly when that desired release date will be. That should all change soon, because we just received invites to a shindig being held on April 18th in which we can hang out with the coveted smartphone, which likely means we'll finally get confirmation on when we should expect to see it available in stores and online. It seems as though the rumored April 25th launchmay actually be spot-on, but we only have another week to wait before we find out.

Android devs: if you can't use your app with your eyes closed, open them and read this

Google's doing a lot to bolster its Android developers guide at the moment, with fresh design tips we covered yesterday and then a new section on accessibility arriving shortly after. The latter provides a bunch of suggestions on things like minimum button size (48dp or around 9mm), and also explains how to make use of free components like TalkBack, which gives a spoken description of an app's UI, and Eyes-Free Keyboard, which many users find easier than regular touch-to-click. These stock services work best with apps that have been designed with them in mind, so if we were presumptuous enough to command all devs to look at the source link, then we probably would. 

Samsung prices Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 at $400, rings up a fresh pair of Galaxy Players for $150, $200

Sammy's gone ahead and priced the latest in its Galaxy Tab and Player series, affixing monetary stickers to not only the 7-inch slate we just took for a spin, but to its 10-inch brother and a pair of handheld cousins. $250 nabs you the aforementioned Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, but an extra $150 will afford you the Tab 2 10.1's three-inch advantage. Of course, if you'd rather keep that 7-inch beauty and pocket a spare device, that same $150 will buy a Galaxy Player 3.6. If that's too small, Sammy will let you pick up a 4.2 variant for $200 square. Care to read that straight?

Biegert & Funk bring the literal time to your wristwatch with QLOCKTWO W

It's a common desire among everyday folk: we often say we'd like to read more, if only we had the time. While it's unlikely to fill your noggin with the prose of Hemingway or the poetry of Whitman, a newwristwatch from Biegert & Funk promises to quench your thirst for words and literally provide you withthe time. Known as the QLOCKTWO W, the timepiece is a portable revision of the company's original wall clock, both of which display the current time in everyday language. Priced at €550, the watch is scheduled for arrival this autumn and will be available in black or stainless steel variations, with either rubber or leather bands. As another option, those who find English far too mundane may spring for the Deutsch version. 

Toshiba's 13-inch Excite: does the world need a tablet this large?

 When Toshiba announced its 13-inch Excite tablet Tuesday, the company made an argument that one size does not fit all when it comes to touchscreen devices. But who will actually use such a large slab of mobile computing?

"The Excite 13 is what we see as a home tablet," Jared Leavitt, a Toshiba spokesman, told Wired. "The larger size makes it an ideal kitchen tablet. You can watch how-to videos while you're cooking, or look up recipes. And then later, you can bring it into the living room to watch videos with the kids, or to look at family photos with friends."

Thankfully, Toshiba is shipping the Excite 13, which runs on Google's Android 4.0 operating system, with a stand that will relieve owners from having to hold, or prop up, the large device themselves.

And despite being bigger than pretty much every other competing tablet on the market, the Excite 13 is fairly thin and light for its size, Leavitt said, noting that it will weigh 2.2 pounds and measure 0.4 inches thick.

Nonetheless, anyone who's watching the tablet market has to wonder why Toshiba is releasing a tablet behemoth in a world enamored with smaller devices. After all, the first tablet to gain any widespread consumer adoption other than Apple's iPad is the 7-inchKindle Fire.

And looking forward, the hottest rumors focus on an iPad mini and a7-inch tablet that would be Google's next flagship mobile device. In short: Small is in, and big isn't even part of the conversation.

Jared Spool, the CEO of User Interface Engineering, a usability research firm, agrees that Toshiba is thinking about tablet design in a way that its rivals aren't. But Spool doesn't agree that the world needs, or wants, a 13-inch tablet.

"This is the sort of typical maneuver of just adding another feature without improving the actual user experience," Spool told Wired. "It's just bigger, and it's not clear to me that anyone is asking for bigger. You can only get the iPad in one size and nobody is saying, 'Gee, it just feels a little too small to me.'"

But while there seems to be no consumer demand for larger tablets, the use case of watching movies as a group, or flipping through photos with loved ones on the couch, on a 13-inch slate isn't too hard to imagine, says Jakob Nielsen, principal at the Nielsen Norman Group, a usability research firm.

"If a small group of people is trying to use the tablet together, sitting on the couch and consuming content, this size makes sense," Nielsen told Wired. "But I do think [the Excite 13] might be a bit of overreach. I don't think that people only need one computer. Nowadays, most people have two computers, between a laptop and a smartphone. But where this Toshiba tablet fits in -- between those devices and the TV -- I'm not sure. It's not likely to be a big success."

Spool also predicts that the Excite 13 will be neither an iPad killer, nor a top-selling Android tablet.

"These types of enhancements are knee-jerk reactions from companies who are trying to 'out feature' other companies," he said. "But what this comes down to is that it's not the specific technology in a tablet that makes it exciting. It's the user experience. And there's just a lot less to do on an Android tablet than an iPad. And what there is to do is much clumsier because the screen sizes and specs for Android tablets are all over the place. A 13-inch screen and a bunch of top specs do nothing to change that."

Among the other specs the Excite 13 touts are a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, 1GB of RAM, a 5-megapixel rear facing camera, and four rear-mounted speakers to blast audio from the tablet's aluminum back.

The tablet also sports a 1,600×900 screen resolution, a micro-USB port, a micro-HDMI port and a full-size SD card slot.

The Excite 13 sits at the top of a revamped tablet line for Toshiba, in terms of both price and screen size with a price tag of $649.99 for the 32GB model, and $749.99 for the 64GB model, when it hits stores in early June.

For those looking for a more traditionally sized tablet that still packs a quad-core punch, Toshiba will also ship in June a 7.7-inch version of the Excite (known as the Excite 7) at $499.99 for 16GB of storage and $579.99 for 32GB.

A 10-inch Excite, dubbed the Excite 10, will ship in May for $449.99 with 16 GB of storage and $529.99 for the 32GB. The Excite range of tablets replaces Toshiba's old line of Thrive slates, which were offered in both a 7-inch and 10-inch model.

In case you're wondering why is the Excite 7 more expensive than the Excite 10, Leavitt explained: "Smaller is harder to do."