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Seven countries in Asia will be among those selling the long-delayed white version of Apple’s smartphone. Apple today announced that the elusive white iPhone 4 will finally be on sale starting tomorrow. In a press release, the company gave a list of countries that it will be available. Among them are seven Asian nations, namely Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. It will cost the same as a black version. In Singapore, the 16GB and 32GB iPhone 4 smartphones go for S$888 and S$1,048 respectively. Aside from the color, the white iPhone 4 is identical to the black version. It was shown at the launch of the device but has been delayed till now. Unveiled in June 2010, the iPhone 4 is now in the 11th month of its product cycle. Each iPhone since the first had about a 12-month life cycle before being replaced by the next one. However, there has been speculation that the upcoming “iPhone 5″ will be delayed.

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10 countries in this part of the world will see this tablet in stores by Friday. Apple will start selling its latest tablet, the iPad 2, in 10 Asian countries this week. The company previously announced that Hong Kong, Korea and Singapore will receive stock in April, but has now included India, Israel, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Turkey and UAE for the April launch.The iPad 2 will be available at retail stores at 9am local time or from Apple’s online store earlier at 1am. Sales will start on April 28 for Japan and April 29 for the rest of the countries listed above. Last we checked, the online stores in these countries have yet to be updated with local pricing.

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The popular iPhone app TweetDeck is re-imagined. v2.0 is not an update but a “brand new app”. Even apps aren’t spared from total makeovers. (Credit: TweetDeck)It may be embroiled in a bidding war, but that won’t stop TweetDeck, Inc from hitting the news again. This time, the second most popular app for publishing tweets after Twitter has gotten an overhaul for the iPhone platform.TweetDeck v2.0 is more of a “brand new app”, according to its developers, rather than an update. Basically they kept the essence of its best features as guidelines for building up the all-new app from scratch — making it faster, more powerful, more flexible and prettier (read: better graphics) than its predecessor. The navigation employs some innovative uses for swipe and pinch gestures such as switching between feeds and exploring profiles. Some actions even allow users to follow or unfollow accounts. Now, iPhone tweeple (a.k.a people who tweet) will have more power for customization, with features like adding feeds — even Facebook feeds — into columns. TweetDeck 2.0 is available at the iTunes App Store, free of charge. iPad users have not been left in the lurch: The makers promise an iPad version and universal update for iOS devices soon. (Credit: TweetDeck)

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The Japanese maker’s hottest announcement may be the S1 and S2 Android tablets, but its Ultra Mobile PC and the Freestyle Hybrid models deserve a second look. Sony Freestyle Hybrid(Credit: Netbooknews)Amidst the excitement of its first Android tablets, Sony’s presentation slides on the Ultra Mobile PC and the Freestyle Hybrid models were, unfortunately, given little notice. But for those who prefer a traditional Windows-based portable, these new designs deserve a closer look. Ultra Mobile PC(Credit: Netbooknews)The Ultra Mobile PC appear to be a 13.3-inch ultrathin notebook, while the Freestyle Hybrid is an Atom-based 9.4-inch Netbook which adopts a slider design. The latter may be available in Q3 this year with a starting price of US$799, which is rather pricey for a Netbook considering that most models in this category starts at S$399. Still, it’ll be interesting to see how Sony adds value to the Netbook to justify the premium. Asia-specific information is not available at this time, but we’ll be keeping an ear out.Via Netbooknews

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Nikon has just released an updated version of its 50mm f1.8 prime lens featuring improved optics and Silent Wave Motor. (Credit: Nikon)The Japanese company’s long-awaited update to its AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D has finally arrived. Replacing its 8-year old predecessor, Nikon claims that the new lens features an improved optical design utilizing a spherical lens element. This corrects purple halos that appear in high-contrast scenes (known as purple fringing) to provide enhanced picture quality. 50mm f1.8 prime lenses have always been popular with shutterbugs because they are compact and affordable. The wide apertures allow users to shoot better pictures in dim environments compared with kit lenses that come with some cameras. We think the new lens may appeal to Nikon D3000 and D5000 users who had to previously opt for the more expensive 50mm f/1.4G lens or put up with focusing manually on the 50mm f/1.8D.The AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G retails in the US at US$219.95. Pricing and availability in Asia have yet to be confirmed.

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Our yearly survey reveals just who PCMag readers love—and who they don’t—in the world of desktops and laptops.

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Origin has announced its most powerful laptop yet. (Credit: Origin)Yesterday, Miami-based Origin PC announced that it would be taking orders for its most powerful laptop, the EON17-S. For those hunting for the perfect laptop to game on without fear of it melting, the EON17-S might be the rig for you. The EON17-S notebook sports a Sandy Bridge Intel Core i7 processor and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 485M, the fastest notebook graphics card in the market. And if that isn’t good enough, let the people at Origin overclock your system up to speeds of 4.5GHz (with Turbo Boost) for you. While some might be worried about possible heat issues that come with increased power, Origin engineers were able to increase the speed of the laptop’s processor without affecting the system. All this is done thanks to Turbo Boost technology. The EON17-S features: 17.3 Full HD Widescreen, LED Backlit, 16.9, 1920 x 1080 (1080p)2nd Generation Intel Core i5 or i7 ProcessorsNVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M 1.5GB or GTX485M 2GBBluray burner & reader, Hybrid and SSD drive with RAID optionsHDMI Out; Optical Digital Out, up to 7.1 HD Audio with THX TruStudio supportBuilt-In TVtuner supportBuilt-in USB 3.0 & E-SATA portsThe price for this gaming laptop will start at US$1,759. By adding some fancy high-end components such as a 512GB solid state drive or 32GB of RAM however, the price can easily go over US$12,000. You can order one right now at Origin’s website and expect your new toy to arrive at your doorstep around mid-May. Via Origin

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Sony is giving its latest BDV-E380 3D Blu-ray home theater system and BDP-S380 Blu-ray player the full online treatment with a Web browser and Internet Bravia Video function. Sony BDV-E380.(Credit: Sony)Sony is giving its latest BDV-E380 3D Blu-ray home theater system and BDP-S380 Blu-ray player the full online treatment with a Web browser and Internet Bravia Video function. The latter feature offers more than 15 Internet video channels such as YouTube streamed via an Ethernet or Wi-Fi (requires an optional USB dongle) connection. Both models share many common features including high-resolution Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding, DLNA and BD-Live-compatibility. Audiophiles should take note that there is native Super Audio CD support, too, unlike similar products from competing brands. Sony BDP-S380.(Credit: Sony)At just S$699 (US$567), the BDV-E380 is also surprisingly well equipped with a powerful 1,000W digital amplifier, two HDMI inputs and automatic surround sound calibration. A free iOS and Android Media Remote app can be used to operate the sleek S$269 (US$218) BDP-S380, too. Check with your local Sony dealers for pricing and availability outside of Singapore.

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According to a quarterly survey by Appcelerator, Google and Apple are leading in efforts to attract the interest of mobile developers. Fragmentation is an issue for mobile developers–but fragmentation among different platforms is more of one than fragmentation within Android. (Credit: Appcelerator/IDC)Google lost some ground in its effort to catch Apple’s lead in the effort to attract mobile developer interest, but other rivals aren’t even close, survey data released today show.So concludes the latest quarterly survey by Appcelerator, released today. The company, along with analyst firm IDC, polled 2,760 developers in mid-April who are using Appcelerator’s Titanium cross-platform development software.”Interest in Android has recently plateaued as concerns around fragmentation and disappointing results from early tablet sales have caused developers to pull back from their previous steadily increasing enthusiasm for Google’s mobile operating system,” Appcelerator said. “While this opens the door a crack for new entrants, nearly two-thirds of respondents believe that it is not possible for Microsoft, RIM, HP, and Nokia to reverse momentum relative to Apple and Google.”The mobile programming market is on fire. Ever-more-capable smartphones have claimed a position of tremendous importance in people’s lives, and tablets are carving out a new entertainment and casual-use niche. And the devices are upending the computer industry, with new operating system and processor makers vaulted into importance while Intel chips and Microsoft Windows languish in the relatively static PC market.Apple, a small player in PCs, is of course leader of the pack when it comes to mobile developer attention. The percent of developers “very interested” in writing software for the iPhone and iPad dipped 1 percentage point each to 91 percent and 86 percent, respectively, compared to figures from January. Android phones dropped 2 percentage points to 85 percent, and Android tablets dropped 3 percentage points to 71 percent, Appcelerator said.But that bloom coming off the Android rose, despite the arrival of Motorola’s Honeycomb-powered Xoom tablet, is nothing compared to what other mobile platforms face.Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 took third place from Blackberry’s phone operating system–but only because its significant drop to 29 percent being “very interested” wasn’t quite as bad as Blackberry’s drop to 27 percent.Fragmentation is an issue for mobile developers–but fragmentation among different platforms is more of one than fragmentation within Android. (Credit: Appcelerator/IDC)The survey found Microsoft’s pact with Nokia, under which the phone maker will make Windows Phone its prime mobile OS, did in fact make a difference in perception. A total of 42 percent of developers said the partnership was the most significant development in competing with Apple and Google, the top factor.Still, 62 percent believe no one can catch up to Apple and Google at this point.One big reason: time. For example, 46 percent of those surveyed said the reason they’re not messing with Windows Phone 7 is because they have their hands full already with iOS and Android.The survey also tackled a thorny issue for mobile developers, fragmentation, which refers to differences among devices that mean programmers have to write different versions of their software. Fragmentation involves screen sizes, physical vs. virtual keyboards, processor power, memory, buttons, and OS versions.Fragmentation has been a particular concern in the Android realm ever since Google succeeded in attracting many hardware companies to participate. And indeed it is an issue that 21 percent of developers raised as their greatest concern.But guess what? Mobile developers have bigger worries. The top fragmentation concern involved programming skills, such as the ability to program with Objective-C for iOS and Java for Android, a problem 33 percent was at the top of the list. Next in line was OS fragmentation, at 22 percent.”We count at least six layers of fragmentation that most developers and businesses have to deal with every day,” Appcelerator said. (Of course, those with cross-platform development tools can be expected to chortle happily at fragmentation concerns, which for them are a business opportunity, but fragmentation makes also makes their jobs harder.)Mobile programmers are tapping into cloud-based services, of course. The biggest category right now is social networking, which 78 percent of developers said they’d be connecting their software to in the next 12 to 18 months. Commerce and enterprise each reached 70 percent, while media and messaging each tallied 65 percent.Connecting to Net-based services is a prime area of interest among mobile developers. (Credit: Appcelerator/IDC)Via CNET News

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