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Alleged spy photo of PS3 Slim's packaging.

No sooner had we written about reports that Sony would be dropping its 80GB PS3 in Japan on August 9, that two more PS3-related news items surfaced.

• A Belgian blog, RTLinfo, is reporting that Sony will soon be lowering the price on the European version of the PS3 from 399 euros to 299 euros (that bodes well for a $299 version of the U.S. PS3). At the same time, the site claims that Sony will introduce the PS3 Slim before the opening of Gamescom expo in Cologne, Germany, at a pre-event press conference on August 18.
• In more concrete news, Amazon today shaved $50 off the 160GB PS3 bundle, which includes Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. It now costs $449.99.

(Source: Engadget via RTLinfo)

Additional reading: Sony dropping 80GB PS3 in Japan?, Possible PS3 Slim listing on Amazon Germany?

Update: The Palm announcement pertains to the Pre SDK--no additional details on pricing or availability.

You got to love when Palm preannounces an announcement for its Pre smartphone.

That's exactly what it's doing with a tantalizing teaser on the official Palm blog. And it claims no April foolery.

The post states: "We thought about running a harmless little April Fools' Day prank on the blog today...but instead, we thought we'd give you a heads-up (for reals) to check back later today (or follow palm_inc on Twitter) for an update direct from the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco."

Everybody, of course, is hoping for pricing or a release date for the much-anticipated Pre, a Sprint exclusive. But there's also a high probability that Palm will simply announce the free, general release of the Mojo SDK.

Naturally, we'll bring you the news, large or small, whenever Palm does provide details.

(Via the official Palm blog via Engadget).

(Credit: HTC)

According to HTC's Twitter feed, the Touch Pro2 is officially coming to North America. We had every indication that it would, but this confirms it.

What's interesting isn't that the phone's headed our way, but that HTC used Twitter to announce it. Twitter is becoming a useful way for companies to reach out to journalists and fans alike.

The feed also says that while there's no specific date, it will "start to roll out late Q2" this year. That means those of you who are waiting for the Pro2 hotness only have to wait a few more months.

(Via Mobile Crunch)

Is this what Amazon.com will announce at its press conference on February 9?

(Credit: Boy Genius Report)

A few days ago I wrote a column speculating when Amazon's new Kindle might arrive, and I might have gotten the answer Tuesday morning.

I just received an invite "to an important Amazon.com press conference" on the morning of Monday, February 9 in New York. I'm not going to say where it is (that's not cool for Amazon's PR people, who would have to deal with crashers), but let's just say it's in a location that relates to books.

When the Kindle was first announced in 2007, Amazon held a very similar press conference (yes, in the morning), so I'd say there's a good chance we'll finally get some sort of official announcement on the next version--or versions--of Amazon's popular digital reading device.

Photos of the alleged Kindle 2 were leaked late last year and speculation was high that a new Kindle would arrive in time for the holidays.

Not only did no new device show up, but Amazon basically stopped shipping the Kindle, even as it continued to advertise it front and center on Amazon.com, day after day. A note on the Kindle product page informed potential buyers that the Kindle was sold out and on back order for two to three months. Now it's just listed as sold out and that Amazon would ship the device on a first-come, first-served basis.

It's interesting to note that one of the readers of my earlier story posted that he just got an e-mail from Amazon saying that the Kindle his girlfriend ordered for him during the holidays was due to ship on March 5. Of course, that's just one buyer, but it wouldn't shock me if Amazon shipped out the bulk of its orders for the Kindle around then.

If indeed this turns out to be the announcement for the new Kindle (to be clear, I have no confirmation of that), Amazon could very well offer customers who've already ordered the original Kindle--and are awaiting its arrival--the option of canceling their orders or receiving the new Kindle.

As always, feel free to comment.

Epson's new R1900 made its debut in Europe.

(Credit: Epson)

Though Epson's U.S. division has been mum on the subject, its U.K. division has announced the new Stylus Photo R1900 printer. I wouldn't be surprised if there are some minor differences between the U.K. and U.S. versions of the printer, but for you big Epson fans in America, here's what we know about the printer announced across the pond: Like the R1800, the R1900 can print images up to 13-inches wide, can lay down ink drops as small as 1.5 picoliters, and uses an 8-ink-tank system. However, the R1900 uses an updated version of Epson's pigment-based UltraChrome Hi-Gloss ink set called UltraChrome Hi-Gloss2. The new set includes separate Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Matte Black, Photo Black, Red, Orange, and a Gloss Optimiser cartridges.

Epson says that the new orange ink, which replaces the blue found in the original UltraChrome Hi-Gloss set, lets the printer achieve more natural skin tones. The company has also reformulated the magenta and yellow inks in an attempt to create more accurate blue and green tones. The new printer also uses revamped Look Up Tables, developed in conjunction with the Munsell Color Science Lab at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Look Up Tables are part of the process a printer or computer goes through when trying to convert the colors in an image into the set of colors that a printer can reproduce. So, if the printer can't make the exact Ferrari red that blankets your car, the Look Up Table helps it get as close as possible.

According to Epson, the R1900 will accept glossy, matte, and fine art papers and will be able to support roll-feed media in addition to standard cut-sheet papers. It's unclear whether the roll feeder comes with the printer or must be purchased as an option, or if this will even be something available for the U.S. version. For that we'll have to wait and see. We do know that the U.K. version will also sport two USB 2.0 Hi-Speed jacks, has a top resolution of 5760x1440dpi, and will be able to print onto CDs and DVDs. It's expected to start selling in jolly old England this November for about 400 pounds, which translates to about $815 here in the U.S. However, I wouldn't expect that the U.S. version will cost that much once it hits our shores, since the R1800 had a price of $550 when it was announced back in February 2005. Once we get concrete U.S. information, we'll be sure to provide an update.

An Archos press event in France has revealed the new Archos line a mere hours before an event is scheduled to take place in the United States. Since neither I nor the folks at Engadget (I'm guessing) can be completely trusted with our French translation, I have relatively few details to confirm. I can tell you the company is launching a new flash player, the 2GB 105, as well as a revamped PVP line, including the 405, the 705, and the 605 WiFi. We'll have some more information here on Crave after the U.S. event.

Update: I just spoke with one of our New York editors who attended the U.S. announcement, and he told me something pretty exciting: the new 605 WiFi is going to have onboard support for CinemaNow, meaning you can purchase and download movies on the go without connecting to a computer. That player will also support Opera with Flash video, so you will never be without fresh video content from sites like YouTube. Um...sweet! (Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the iPhone can do that.) Stay tuned for a separate post, which will include plenty of specs to whet your appetite.

(Credit: everwonder.com)

You've probably heard the news: for several days, employees of Google's NYC headquarters were "terrorized" by a snake on the loose in the office. (A "Googler," whose identity shall remain anonymous, kept the 3-foot-long ball python named "Kaiser" in his cubicle. That is just so Google.) Luckily, a member of the building staff managed to find the snake last night. "Member of the building staff," yeah right. They totally had to call in Samuel L. Jackson for it.

But this should be a wake-up call for all of us. You never know which one of your wacky co-workers is stashing a python in his office (around here, my bet is on Dan Ackerman), and you never know when it might escape. So, because we care about you and your workplace, here is Crave's guide to office gadgets that can help you catch a runaway python.

--Stuffed animal speakers. I bet you never thought that speakers that looked like cute, fuzzy frogs and piglets would come in handy. Well, you're wrong. I'm sure someone in your office has a few of these hooked up to his laptop, and they'll make great python bait. Just plant them around the office; the fugitive snake will likely think they're tasty treats, and you'll be able to corner the slithery little guy as he attempts to chomp down a novelty iPod speaker. Yum!

--Remote-controlled spy camera. Pythons don't have legs and they are kind of flat, which means they can go in lots of places that humans can't. But spy cameras on wheels can! This way, you can control the rolling video camera from your PC as it prowls the office in search of your missing serpent.

--Pikachu. Mongooses are snakes' natural enemies. Unfortunately, you typically won't find them around the office. However, you might be able to find a Pikachu somewhere. I hear those work just as well.

--Rescue robot. Chances are, your escaped python will be in distress when you manage to find him, especially if you've already terrorized him with remote-control cars and Pikachu. As a result, you may not want to pick him up to return him to his cage, since he might freak out. Why not have this rescue robot do it for you? Oh...what? You say you don't have one of these in your office? That is so 20th-century of you. Get with the program, because you never know when you might have a python problem on your hands.