ost Bluetooth speakers have historically been expensive; it's not uncommon to spend over $100 for something that would normally cost $80 or less. Tenqa wants to solve that with the SP-109, a Bluetooth speaker that comes in at just $50. We'll find out in our review if the device is a minor revolution or has the quality to match the low price....

Vaja has recently been teasing its early lineup of cases for the iPad. Its lineup so far will start with the Retro Slim Jacket; the Argentinian leather sleeve fully covers the Apple tablet and supplies padding along with a magnetic latch to keep the design simple. Although only one color is on display so far, it's likely Vaja will let buyers customize both the main color and the inset hue....

SanDisk's homepage has begun teasing "something big" launching this Tuesday. The company hasn't provided any direct hints but leads off its teaser with "memory full" and shows what appears to be an anthropomorphized drive or media player. No leaks have appeared lately to supply extra hints....

The Australian company STM Bags has announced five new color options for its STM neoprene sleeve for notebook computers. The case is available in four different size options, allowing users to protect devices ranging in size from 10.2 inches up to 17 inches. Features of the STM glove include a top-load design for quick access to the protected device, an inner zipper guard to prevent scratching, and double cross-stitched seams for durability. Prices for the case range from $20 up to $30, with color options including black, burgundy, magenta, teal, and orange....

Apple CEO Steve Jobs on Friday made a surprise appearance at Lucile Park Children's Hospital in Palo Alto, speaking beside Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, according to a Mercury News report. The public icons joined together to promote legislation designed to help increase the number of organ donations in California....

Apple has begun offering 10-pack iPad bundles for educational institutions, with a modest discount for quantity purchases. Each package includes ten iPads paired with USB-to-Dock Connector cables and power adapters, while a single set of documentation is shipped with each order....

Apple pulled one of Tommy Refene's iPhone apps following the developer's public criticism of the App Store, according to Kotaku. Refenes spoke for several minutes at the recent Game Developers Conference, saying he "absolutely f***ing hate[s] the iPhone App Store." He reportedly compared the iPhone gaming market to the low-quality Tiger handheld platform of the '80s and '90s....

Equinux on Friday released an update to SongGenie, a utility for improving music libraries. Version 2 automatically searches for song lyrics from a variety of web archives. Users can also obtain hard-to-find lyrics through a configurable web search, with text applied to the song with a single mouse-click....

Palm was delivered harsh criticism today as analysts downgraded the company following its poor fiscal performance. Canaccord Adams' Peter Misek maintained a "sell" opinion but called for a price target of $0 as he expected the company's situation would only get worse. He predicted a vicious circle that would see carriers and part producers back out with doubts about Palm's ability to stay in business, hurting its ability to sell devices even more....

Apple on Friday began allowing developers to submit apps for the iPad. The company has requested that developers submit their applications by March 27th, giving the review team enough time to make sure the titles are ready for public release....

...

China Mobile has allegedly asked Apple to create a special version of the iPhone to support the carrier's local network technology, according to a Financial Times report. Chairman and chief executive Wang Jianzhou recently expressed hope to come to an agreement with Apple as soon as possible....

Microsoft suffered its second legal setback in as many days on Friday with word of a second patent lawsuit from VirnetX. The accuser hopes to expand on the $105.8 million fine against Microsoft by claiming that Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 also infringe on the same patents for VPN networking that were the subject of the prior lawsuit. VirnetX didn't specify what it hoped for in damages but characterized the second complaint as plugging a gap that would otherwise exempt newer versions of Windows....

JVC picked an unusual Friday timeframe to start shipping the Everio GZ-HM550BUS, its first camcorder with Bluetooth. The short-range wireless gives the 1080p60 camera unique control features. With an installed app, a smartphone can record and zoom like a remote control; it can also use A2DP headphones for wireless audio and geotag video with a Bluetooth GPS receiver....

Apple has reportedly seeded yet another Mac OS X 10.6.3 beta to developers, just days after the previous release. The latest version is said to focus on graphics drivers, Quicktime, iPhoto, Mail, and security certificates. Developers are now working with build 10D572, a single increment above the recent 10D571 build....

Apple is requiring that the few pre-release iPad developers with hardware exhibit the same level of secrecy that it implements itself, a rare insight into the process has shown. Those with access to the tablet before its April 3rd launch have had to not only shroud any windows but to tether the iPad to an immovable object. The company goes so far as to have companies take a photo of the room meeting these conditions before they receive their sample units....

A possible leak has emerged today of what may be a major revision to the BlackBerry platform. Coming from what's supposed to be a "best" source, shots of BlackBerry OS 6.0 show a much more visual home screen with widgets for live data. These would vary in size and include basic data like news and weather but also sports, a Twitter feed and more....

Canon today quickly acted on the discovered audio bug in its latest EOS 5D Mark II firmware by rolling out a 2.0.4 update. After patching earlier in the week, the full-frame DSLR had encountered a bug that would cut off audio when manual recording levels were selected during video capture in the C1, C2 or C3 custom modes. This should now be solved, Canon said....

The in-progress HP slate may actually be more expensive than the iPad when it goes on sale, a Spanish hands-on has revealed. The tablet is said to be shipping to the US in June, and in Europe would carry a price of 400 euros, or $544. While not a direct US translation, the price could make it more expensive than the $499 iPad even while it ships later....

India's Bharti Airtel on Friday said it would start selling the iPhone 3GS through its stores. The agreement with Apple doesn't have a set launch date and will be ready only in the "coming months." The carrier had already been selling the iPhone 3G as of August 2008 but until now didn't have access to the faster phone released late last year....

Apple on Thursday night released version 9.1.1 updates for Logic Express (138.8MB) and Logic Pro (191.9MB). The patching focuses on extending 64-bit support and, in Logic Express, adds support for 64-bit native mode. as well as compatibility with 64-bit Audio Unit plugins. Other fixes in Express allow support for file names longer than 32 characters and proper sample mapping when Contiguous Zones is used in the EXS module....

BenQ has introduced three new LED-backlit LCD monitors this week, including the widescreen V2410T and V2410B, which succeed the V2400 Eco LED Monitor and the E2420HDB. All sport 24-inch screens, and the sole difference between the former pair is their aesthetics. The two otherwise share the same height-adjustable stands, native 1080p resolution and a 5ms response time....

Marvell on Thursday promised one of the most aggressive plans for a tablet so far. As part of a new initiative, a tablet prototype known as the Moby would cost just $99 but would use Marvell's Armada 600 ARM processor to provide performance that would be unavailable from much more expensive devices. It should support hardware 1080p video playback, contemporary 3D graphics, and Flash-based content....

RIM's next touchscreen BlackBerry, the Talladega slider, could be revealed as soon as April, based on comments from a Korean supplier. Woojeon & Handan is said by local news outlet Joins to be providing parts for a new phone, nicknamed "T," that would be ready next month. It would be a new flagship for RIM in Europe and the US, and it would go head-to-head against the iPhone, the publication said....

Canon has cautioned on its website that the 2.0.3 firmware update for the EOS 5D Mark II DSLR has audio problems. When users change the manual recording levels for the C1, C2, or C3 modes and Sound Recording is set to Manual, the camera will not record sound along with video if power is turned off manually or automatically after idling. Canon urges 5D Mark II owners who have already downloaded the firmware to mitigate this issue by setting Sound Recording to Auto....

Palm this afternoon reported a dramatic fall in smartphone sales for its winter quarter. The company shipped 960,000 smartphones between December and February but only sold 408,000 of those devices. Its shipments were exactly triple what it had supplied a year earlier but were countered by a 15 percent drop in actual sell-through to users at carriers like O2, Sprint and Verizon....

EA Mobile has posted some new information and screenshots for several of its upcoming iPhone and iPod touch games. The Sims 3 World Adventures will allow players to explore three exotic locations including Egypt, France, and China. Users can also transfer their Sims back and forth between the iPhone/iPod touch version and The Sims 3. Also currently in the works is an updated version of EA's classic city-planning game, SimCity Deluxe. The game will feature an improved interface that includes larger buttons, better flow, and quicker access to important items. Users wil...