Apple iPad 2 hands on: Faster, thinner than the original

After more speculation than most people could stomach, the iPad 2 has arrived and we got our hands all over Apple's next-gen tablet mere minutes after Steve Jobs left the stage at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco. Based on what we've seen so far, it seems like Apple has avoided any semblance of a sophomore slump. Even though detractors may grumble about the screen resolution, storage, and price remaining the same, there's a lot to like here. Key upgrades include a significantly thinner frame, which comes with a black or white bezel, dual cameras for video, stills, and FaceTime chats, and what's possibly most exciting—3G versions for both AT&T and Verizon.

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Acer Liquid Metal flows into India, priced at Rs. 20,990

First spotted in a leak back in September, before being globally released in November-December, the Android Froyo-powered Acer Liquid Metal has been launched in India without much fanfare. Unlike the expensive Ferrari-branded and under-powered Acer Liquid E, the better performing Liquid Metal has a more realistic launch price of Rs. 20,990 in India.

http://www.thinkdigit.com/Mobiles-PDAs/Acer-Liquid-Metal-flows-into-India-priced_6372.html

Report: Blackberry Messenger due for Android, iOS

Research in Motion is planning on porting its Blackberry Messenger Service to both the Android OS and eventually the Apple iOS platform as well, a report claimed Thursday.

Citing multiple sources within RIM, Boy Genius Report claimed that the software which may end up launching on the other platforms will be a de-featured version that could lack the ability to share multimedia files, BGR said.

"According to our sources, RIM has not yet finalized details surrounding timing or pricing, but we have heard that the company might make the software free to all users," BGR claimed. "We're also told strategy is still being developed, however, and RIM may end up charging users a one-time fee or even a recurring fee for access to its BBM service on third-party platforms." http://www.thinkdigit.com/Mobiles-PDAs/Report-Blackberry-Messenger-due-for-Android-iOS_6386.html