TiVo Premiere DVRs in the Bay Area get Comcast VOD starting today

Just one month shy of a year after we first heard it would happen (not counting the icon flub during the original Premiere announcement) TiVo has announced its DVRs will be able to access Comcast's Xfinity On Demand library. The blog and product page feature several screenshots flashing the Xfinity VOD icon and showing off the TiVo Premiere UI's universal search pulling from Comcast's library alongside other sources like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu Plus. Until now, switching to third party DVRs exclusively meant largely foregoing access to Comcast's VOD, but with this customers who dig the TiVo experience can switch without making compromises. Naturally, to make use of this customers will need to be Comcast TV subscribers, although we hear the video will be delivered via QAM just like on cable company owned boxes instead of IP, which might provide higher video quality than the Xbox 360's recently launched app. The update will be made available to customers in the San Francisco Bay Area to start, delivered "today and over the next few weeks" -- no word yet when we'll see this roll out elsewhere.

Insert Coin: The PowerPot portable electric generator

Assuming you're not getting through the day with a bounty of fuel cell-powered gadgets, you've probably been in a situation where you needed power and it was nowhere to be found. The PowerPot isn't the most practical solution for every scenario, but it's likely to come in handy at least once. The power-generating pot uses thermoelectric modules to convert temperature differences into a 5-, 10- or 15-watt regulated power stream, sufficient for juicing up USB devices like smartphones, GPS devices and LED lamps. The most traditional method for creating this temperature difference is to put a pot of cold water over an open flame, but the device is adaptable to other configurations -- a pot of snow on a thermal spring, for example. Assuming you've taken the fire approach, you can also use the pot to boil water or cook food as you charge your gadgets.

The inventor has created a functional prototype that features fire-proof components and looks quite polished, but now the team is turning to Kickstarter to advance the project to production. Your pledge could net you any of a variety of PowerPots, ranging from a 5-watt portable V flavor for $125 to the 15-watt XV for $500. You can also pre-order a 10-watt PowerPot X for $199. If you're feeling generous, there's also an option to donate a PowerPot to folks in developing nations who may not have the cash to spare, but are in need of a cost-effective solution for power generation. Jump past the break to see the PowerPot V in action, and hit up the source link to scroll through the available configs before making your pledge.

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?