How's that headline treating you? Surely the same criticism leveled at the iPad holds true for this tablet concept running the Windows Phone 7 smartphone OS right? Maybe. But it's certainly advantageous to see all those metro UI panels laid out as a single image instead of a series of vertical slices suitable to a mobile handset. And a pair of backside joysticks and double-duty touch QWERTY / viewing stand are nice features as well. Nevertheless, we already have a fictitious lover in the Courier who we're not quite ready to betray even if the designer is named Umang Dokey, okey? Test your own nobility in the video after the break.

Say hello to Harman International's home, media and mobile updates for the spring, bringing its audio expertise to those who aren't quite ready to step up to its higher end line of standalone receivers and the like. Promising to perfect the audio performance of any car audio setup in just 10 minutes, the $799 JBL MS-8 is as interesting as it is specialized. The HKTS 20 and HKTS 30 ($699 / $899, March) are standard 200w 5.1 surround sound setups, and while they promise improvements over their predecessors the Go + Play Micro boombox ($399, March), On Time Micro & 200P clock devices (both $249, April) and On Stage Micro II ($129, April) probably aren't hiding anything too surprising underneath those iPod docks, but we'd suggest perusing the gallery just to be sure.

If there's one thing we've learned over all these years of covering gadgets it's that human laziness knows no bounds. None at all. Now even the (lethargic) activity of scratching one's own back has been roboticized courtesy of designers Dana Gordon and Alejandro Zamudio Sánchez. They've created a chair called Itch, which features a touchpad hidden under the seat. The user simply needs to reach down and move the "mechanical fingernail" into position and then let it do its thing. It appears at this time that multitouch is not supported, so those who are about to suffer from springtime mosquito swarms may want to look for something a bit more robust -- maybe a multi-pronged back scratcher of the bamboo kind?

Hang with us for a sec as we conjure up a speculative device from a sordid collection of rumors. By now we've all seen the leaked BlackBerry slider right? How about the "Mr. T" phone, heard of that? Maybe you've heard of it by its other codename of Talladega? The connection here is that all of these devices are thought to be one and the same although that's definitely not confirmed by any stretch.

Things got a bit more interesting today after a loose-lipped CEO of a RIM parts supplier (Woojeon & Handan) posted on joins.com (a popular Korean news site) started discussing a brand new BlackBerry "T" phone launching next month. According to our translation or the Korean jibba jabba:

"The Canadian company RIM famous for BlackBerry smartphones is releasing a new model next month. Known as the "T," The new model is an ambitious product aimed at competing against iPhone's storm of success. Rim will present it ("T") as its flagship model to compete in global markets such as the U.S. and Europe."

Funny, we thought that the original Storm was RIM's answer to the iPhone. Anywho, Reuters picked up on the Woojeon & Handan interview today but shied away from mentioning the name or the "next month" timing, saying only that W&H would supply parts for a new RIM product to be released later this year. With any luck, we'll get a full reveal of the mythical BB slider next week with the kickoff of the big CTIA show.

[Thanks, Frank]

Hey, remember Taiyo's voice controlled toy helicopter from last year? This is way cooler. Like, way cooler. It's an autonomous quad-copter created by the Robust Robotics Group at MIT. It hovers and flies a bit like the AR.Drone that had us smitten at CES this past January, but this one has a lot more brains. It response to natural (though slowly delivered) language voice commands that look to be processed on an iPhone before being sent to the helo. In the video embedded below you'll see it responding to the command "Fly past room 124 then face the windows and go up." Sure enough, it does as instructed, and while we don't know how many takes that particular feat of robotic subservience took to pull off, we're suitably impressed. Mind you, this is a research project and not any product ever destined for retail, so after watching that video a few more times we'll just go back to crashing our Picco Zs into the walls -- and each other.

DARPA wants to let you all know that its plans for the robot apocalypse are still going strong. The agency's got IBM working on the brains, has an RFI out on the skin, and is handling propulsion and motor control in-house. Next up? Eyeballs. In order to give its robots the same sort of "visual intelligence" currently limited to animals, DARPA is kicking off a new program called The Mind's Eye with a one-day scientific conference this April. The goal is a "smart camera" that can not only recognize objects, but also be able to describe what they're doing and why, allowing unmanned bots and surveillance systems to report back, or -- we're extrapolating here -- make tactical decisions of their own. To be clear, there's no funding or formal proposal requests for this project quite yet. But if the code does come to fruition, DARPA, please: make sure autoexec.bat includes a few Prime Directives.

Over the years, a number of optional technologies have allowed new auto buyers to remotely disable and / or recover their vehicles after purchase, but these devices aren't always optional, and it might not even be the buyer who activates them. According to Threat Level, a man has been charged in Austin, Texas for allegedly hacking into the computer of his employer, Texas Auto Center, and activating WebTeck remote horn triggers and kill devices installed in over 100 cars owned by the company's customers -- all from the comfort of home. After Texas Auto Center reset the offending software's passwords and figured out what's what, the Austin High Tech Crime Unit quickly traced access back to one Omar Ramos-Lopez and made an arrest -- but for many, the damage (in terms of missed work, school and tow-truck calls) had already been done. Care to form an opinion? Read more about the crime, and WebTeck, at our source links.

Plug your cell phone charger into the wall. Feel it. Is it warm? Then like it or not, you're wasting electricity. AT&T would like to change all that with this new Zero charger, a tiny black brick which automatically cuts power to itself whenever your cell phone is disconnected. While it's not quite as amusing as an ejector seat, it's certainly more practical, and the wall wart's modular USB design means you can charge almost any mobile with interchangeable cables (sold separately, of course) while you wait oh-so-patiently for the cellphone industry to finally stop using proprietary ports. If you've got a vampire draw problem, let AT&T be your garlic this May.

Want to get our attention in a hurry? Tip us on a digital magazine concept for the iPad that combines footage captured by a prototype RED Mysterium-X sensor from inside of a Frank Miller style, noir hellscape. Of course, just because it was created for the iPad doesn't mean that the concept isn't applicable to any of the hundreds (not an exaggeration) of tablet devices destined to arrive over the next year. The feature concept, created by Alexx Henry and Andrew Grant together with co-directors Cory Strassburger and Ming Hsiung, redefines the art of infotainment. And make no mistake: as mainstream media fights for eyeballs this is blood for blood and by the gallon. These are the old days, the bad days, the all-or-nothing days. They're back. There's no choice left. And publishers are ready for war. See the video (and making of) after the break.

Update: While the making-of video says the footage was shot using a "RED Epic M-X Sensor" a screen grab of the actual camera shows that it's a RED ONE, not an Epic. Image after the break.

Heads-up displays are undoubtedly novel, and downright useful in the right circumstances. Trouble is, few of these prototypes ever make it beyond the lab, and we're stuck using these same two eyeballs to experience the world around us. General Motors is evidently tired of the almosts, and it's now working in concert with Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Southern California in order to concoct one of the most advanced HUD systems that we've seen -- particularly in the automotive world. Setting out to create "enhanced vision systems," GM's R&D team has created a windshield packed with visible and Infrared cameras along with internal optics that keep a close eye on the driver's retinas. In the images and video below (hit the 'Read More' link for the real action), you'll see a solution that utilizes lasers in order to highlight road edges, speed limit signs and all sorts of other vital bits of data during a fog-filled commute. Best of all? We're told that some of these technologies "could end up in GM vehicles in the near-term future." Granted, the Volt was supposed to set sail already, but we suppose we'll give 'em the benefit of the doubt.

If the minature box doesn't give it away then the word "Premiere" certainly does. That's the first in the wild shot of TiVo's inaugural Series 4 shifter riding the shelves of Best Buy. We're told that the units are definitely in-house but are being withheld from shelves until March 28th (not the 27th as originally rumored but ahead of the official "early April" date) with a list price of $2,000 to prevent enthusiastic clerks from breaking the street date. So don't go in demanding a $149.99 take home price (MSRP is $299) this morning just 'cause you saw it on Engadget, ok?

[Thanks, DS]

It's a mighty aggressive schedule for a handset that hasn't even been announced yet, but the latest scuttlebutt regarding the HTC Incredible suggests that the phone will make its debut on Verizon's airwaves about two weeks from now. It was already known that the Incredible was destined for a rendezvous with Big Red, but this latest word solidifies and specifies that future nicely -- and it's claimed to come directly from internal sources at Verizon. There's also further mention of 512MB of DRAM allied to a downclocked Snapdragon CPU (capable of 1GHz, running at 768MHz), an 8 megapixel camera, a 1,300 mAh battery, and body dimensions almost indistinguishable from those belonging to the Nexus One. Good thing too, since Verizon is still keeping us waiting on a mysterious Spring release of Google's own-brand phone. We get the feeling Android 2.1 and the new Sense UI will fill that gap nicely, however, and if you really must have that 1GHz speed, there are ways to achieve such things too.

[Thanks, Carson R.]

It's no surprise that Best Buy is encouraging customers to pick up Samsung's 3DTV and Blu-ray player at the same time, but smart buyers should doublecheck to make sure they're actually saving money before they walk out of the store. Next week's advertisement does feature Best Buy's price on the UN55C7000 that's $300 lower than the MSRP, and grabbing the display and player all at once gets a free Starter Pack throw in with two pairs of glasses and the Monsters vs. Aliens flick, but the $3,419 package deal at the lower right and its "$780" savings?. That claimed price throws in a $150 Geek Squad install to set up the TV, connect WiFi and "sync your 3D glasses," while also including the TVs price and $349 estimated Starter Kit value. While there might be some customers who don't know their HDMI from their WEP key who can save that way, we're figuring most Engadget readers can keep a few bucks in their pocket and hook things up themselves, and if you're looking to grab another pair of glasses, it's probably important to save anywhere you can. The real insult here however, can be found to the right, encouraging buyers to pick up The Blind Side right away, instead of waiting to rent from Redbox or Netflix.

Google's been iterating its Maps client for Android devices at a positively ridiculous pace lately, burning through versions 3.4 and 4.0 in a span of just a few days last month -- but hey, March is upon us, which apparently means it's time for another fresh cut. This time around we're looking at 4.1, though the mere 0.1 bump in the version number really doesn't do this thing justice -- they've redesigned the results screen, added a swipe gesture for moving between results, served up a new Latitude widget for the home screen, and brought in support for multiple Google accounts (for seeing different Buzz follows, for instance). The icing on the cake, though, is a new live wallpaper for Android 2.1 phones that's a live map of your location, which sounds absurdly awesome -- assuming it doesn't beat your battery to a bloody pulp with constant GPS access, of course. It's available now from the good ol' Market for devices running Android 1.6 and up, so if you're on a device that's still stuck on Cupcake, feel free to shake your fist angrily at the sky a couple times. Interestingly, Google specifically says that the live wallpaper feature works on "Android 2.1+" devices -- a sign that the next major build is around the corner, perhaps?

With not so much as a hint of fanfare (and a very loose definition of "coming soon"), Amazon has quietly unleashed its Kindle app for Mac. The 22MB file is for Intel-based machines only, OS X 10.5 and above. Nothing too fancy, it does exactly what you'd expect in terms of functionality... and not much else. What else is there to say? Time's a-wastin', hit up the source link to download.

HTC hasn't filed its official reply to Apple's patent lawsuit in court yet, but the company just gave us an updated and expanded statement on the case, saying that while it "strongly advocates intellectual property protection," it disagrees with Apple's actions and will "fully defend itself." Natch. HTC obviously wasn't eager to divulge whether or not that means it's going to countersue Apple with its own patents, but we're sort of expecting it -- we'll find out more when lawyers do their thing in a few weeks. Oh, and we also asked HTC if and when Google would get involved, but didn't get an answer -- we'll let you know if we hear anything. Full statement after the break.

It's hard to argue that Windows Phone 7 Series' Metro UI concept isn't utterly unique in the mobile world, but it was wasn't the only option Microsoft considered -- far from it, in fact. The company has published a bunch a design concepts it churned through on its wild, wacky journey to finalizing Metro as we know it today, and one thing's for certain: they'd clearly planned on simple, square lines, partially-obscured typography, and in-your-face colors pretty much from day one. After careful consideration of everything they've got here, we still think we like the production design best, but that's kind of besides the point -- why, pray tell, couldn't these have just been user-selectable themes?

Microsoft certainly set off a firestorm of controversy yesterday with the revelation that Windows Phone 7 Series won't have copy and paste, since it doesn't necessarily line up with what the company has said in private before -- and the issue seems to have gotten even more clouded as people have started hacking around the emulator. So let's set the record straight on what we were told, since it wasn't ambiguous in any way: Microsoft says leaving clipboard operations out was a conscious design decision based on user research showing that people don't actually use copy and paste very often, and that instead 7 Series features a systemwide data detection service which recognizes things like phone numbers and addresses so you can take action on them. Third-party apps can hook into this service, so that an email address can be routed to the email client of your choice, but there's no copy and paste functionality. We specifically asked about Office and OneNote, and we were told that Microsoft's research shows that people mostly want to view and comment on documents, not move things around. We also specifically asked if copy and paste was coming later and were told no, although we'd guess that it's at least being worked on for a future version. Don't take it from us, though -- listen to Microsoft's Todd Brix for yourself: