Jack Schulze and Timo Arnall made this stunning video by using a specially-made LED wand, long-exposure photography, some animation, and a metric ton of patience. I, on the other hand, will be using the next few moments, my eyes, and an ounce or two of amazement to appreciate the supposedly paranoia-inducing beauty of RFID. [PopSci]

In time for Windows 7’s launch, HP will release three new TouchSmart all-in-ones. The 20-inch TouchSmart 300 and the 23-inch TouchSmart 600 (check out Mark’s full review) both have infrared multitouch displays. The TouchSmart family PC solution that has been so popular in kitchens and living rooms, now has a business friendly twin. Yes, even business owners need the 23-inch TouchSmart 9100 which is anticpated to be used in store fronts and retail locations.

HP completes the multitouch family with its smaller and more portable 12-inch HP Tx2 laptop. Like the original, it has a capacitive screen with a convertible hinge. You can use both a finger and a pen on the screen.

The biggest update to the all-in-ones and the Tx2 laptop is the interface. HP continues to put its TouchSmart user interface on top of Windows 7 and it is one of the best I have seen. The new stuff comes in the way of applications; there are now loads of new third party applications, including Hulu, Twitter and Netflix. The interface is as smooth as a baby’s bottom and the main set of tiles fan across the screen and you can easily flick to toggle them. Again, check out the full review of the TouchSmart 600 to get a glimpse of how it really works. HP may just have a method to its touch madness. [HP]

HP Unveils New Multitouch PCs and Display
Company debuts its first fully interactive, 42-inch, high-definition digital signage touch display

PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 13, 2009 – Building upon its nearly 30-year history of touch innovation, HP today launched the next era of multitouch computing for consumers and businesses.

Among the new products, HP introduced three touch-enabled HP TouchSmart PCs and its first fully interactive, 42-inch diagonal, high-definition (HD) digital signage touch display, the HP LD4200tm.

“Since the launch of the first TouchSmart PC nearly three years ago, we’ve worked closely with a growing number of software companies and independent vendors to develop built-for-touch applications that give consumers and businesses rich interactive multimedia experiences,” said James Mouton, senior vice president and general manager, Desktop Global Business Unit, Personal Systems Group, HP. “These collaborations have helped to make HP touch computing the most advanced touch experience in the market today.”

New consumer HP TouchSmart PCs packed with exclusive touch applications
HP now offers a choice of 20- or 23-inch diagonal widescreen consumer HP TouchSmart PCs – the HP TouchSmart 300 and HP TouchSmart 600. Each features a sleek, award-winning design that integrates either a stunning HD-capable or HD widescreen display with a multitouch enabled screen.

Users can simply pinch, rotate, arc, flip, press or drag a finger across the screen of the PC to access information, entertainment and social networks in a natural, intuitive way. Though accompanied by a wireless keyboard and mouse, new 16:9 widescreen tiles make multimedia, social media and other applications a rich and engaging touch experience.

The new consumer HP TouchSmart PCs feature exclusive built-for-touch applications(1) including:
• Hulu Desktop to provide quick access to Hulu’s vast library of hit TV shows, movies and video clips. Users can browse, search and watch their favourite comedies, dramas, sci-fi and web-original shows from nearly 200 leading content companies. Users with Hulu.com accounts also can access their queue, subscriptions and viewing history.
• A touch-enabled Netflix application delivers thousands of full-screen TV episodes and movies that are streamed from Netflix over the Internet. Using HP’s signature fan view, Netflix members can instantly watch a move from their Instant Queue on the PC or remove a movie from their Queue via touch. Netflix members also can rent DVD and Blu-ray discs as well as edit and manage their Netflix accounts using the application. A two-week free Netflix trial is available to all TouchSmart users in the United States.
• Twitter, a free social networking and micro-blogging service, makes it easy to catch up with family, friends and colleagues with the touch of a finger.
• With Rhapsody as the engine, the new HP Music Store gives users streaming, on-demand access to 8 million songs delivered to the new TouchSmart PC. Customers who subscribe to Rhapsody can enjoy favourite artists, create playlists or just sit back and listen. Non-members can enjoy a free 14-day trial.
• Pandora Internet radio is now touch enabled for a free personalised music experience to find new music based on old and current favourites.
• TouchSmart RecipeBox lets aspiring chefs discover, explore and keep track of recipes saved from multiple websites and cook with a hands-free experience via voice commands.
• TouchSmart Live TV allows quick access for watching and recording live, local TV. Customers can set recordings in advance of their airing via an electronic programming guide.
• TouchSmart Canvas allows customers to organize their photos on a virtual canvas to quickly and easily create photo collages using touch to edit and rotate photos.
• TouchSmart Link allows the transfer of photos and images taken by a mobile device to the TouchSmart PC via Bluetooth® wireless technology.

Customers with previous TouchSmart PC models who upgrade to Windows 7 through the HP Windows 7 Upgrade Option Program will receive software with some of these new touch applications.

A new swivel stand and tilt webcam(1) increase users’ ability to share and collaborate around the HP TouchSmart, which also can easily be wall mounted (with optional wall bracket accessory). All models meet ENERGY STAR® 5.0 requirements.

Some models of the HP TouchSmart 600 easily connect to gaming consoles, including Xbox, PlayStation and Wii, via HDMI or composite video ports.

World’s first multitouch consumer notebooks now better than ever
For those whose active lives demand a device for note capture, entertainment, communication and robust computing that’s easy to carry, the HP TouchSmart tx2 notebook PC delivers. The HP TouchSmart tx2 combines powerful computing with tablet PC capabilities and entertainment features in an attractive design light enough to go anywhere.

With multitouch support within HP MediaSmart, the HP TouchSmart tx2 is the first notebook PC for consumers that enables the use of two fingers to navigate HP’s entertainment applications. The HP TouchSmart tx2 features most of the same touch applications as the HP TouchSmart PC as well as exclusive touch-enabled games and Corel® Painter Sketch Pad for creating digital art.

The HP TouchSmart tx2 weighs 4.65 pounds,(2) features a 12.1-inch diagonal WGXA HD HP LED widescreen integrated touch-screen convertible display, AMD Turion™ dual-core processors(3) and a glossy HP Imprint finish with titanium colour “Reaction” pattern.

The convertible design with a twist hinge allows consumers to enjoy the HP TouchSmart tx2 in three modes: PC, display and tablet. With a rechargeable digital ink pen, users can turn the HP TouchSmart tx2 into a tablet PC to write, sketch, draw, take notes or graph right onto the screen – and then automatically convert handwriting into typed text.

Business HP TouchSmart drives new customer interactions, business models
The industry’s only full-featured, all-in-one, multitouch-enabled business PC, the HP TouchSmart 9100 Business PC provides real-time information, videoconferencing capabilities(4) and multimedia features in a 23-inch diagonal full HD(5) widescreen display.

The HP business TouchSmart is enabling a more interactive, compelling customer experience at businesses such as bridal retailer Priscilla of Boston for luxury dress concierge service, St. Louis Oncology for medical filing, the NBA’s Detroit Pistons for instant replays and food, and hotels such as Sheraton and Marriott to provide enhanced customer lobby experiences.

New business models are emerging with the HP TouchSmart 9100. Digital Aisle, an interactive shopper solutions company, is bringing “virtual sales assistants” to life using HP’s interactive touch screens. The Digital Aisle’s Virtual Bartender uses HP TouchSmart technology to help people plan parties, print and email recipes, and learn expert bartending tips. This interactive point-of-purchase tool has been deployed to independent and chain retailers across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

An array of new enhancements on the HP TouchSmart 9100 include:
• DVI output, enabling customers to connect to their full HD format displays and projectors
• Configure-to-order options designed to meet the needs of businesses, including a choice of genuine Microsoft Windows® 7 32-bit or 64-bit operating system,(6) processors, optical drives, hard drives, solid state drives, Kensington locks, HP Protect Tools and HP BIOS to enable USB ports and SATA device lock down, and retasking of button controls for custom kiosk configurations
• Optional wall mount adaptor attaches the HP TouchSmart to a VESA wall mount or a VESA-compatible articulating arm
• U.S. Trade Agreements Act (TAA) compliant – HP TouchSmart 9100 configure-to-order units comply with TAA requirements(7)
• Premium performance with a powerful Intel® Core™2 Duo processor,(8) Genuine Windows 7 Professional, up to eight gigabytes (GB) of memory,(9) up to a 500 GB hard drive or an optional 64 GB solid state drive,(10) and a trial version of Microsoft® Office(11)
• NVIDIA GeForce G200 integrated graphics or upgrade to NVIDIA GeForce GT230 discrete graphics using the Mobile Express Module (MXM) graphics slot
• New standard onsite warranty providing next-day(12) business servicing
• FireWire® output for quick and easy transfer of digital files, photos and videos from a wide variety of IEEE94-compatible peripheral devices
• Optional wireless keyboard and mouse
• Optional Blu-ray combo optical(13) disk drive

The HP TouchSmart for business is a space- and energy-saving portal for businesses. Its ENERGY STAR qualified and EPEAT® Silver registered design uses 55 percent less metal and 37 percent less plastic than standard PCs and monitors. With the easy-to-use HP Power Manager tool, companies also can configure their individual PC power settings to save energy without interfering with the PC’s ability to perform.

Businesses shine with HP’s first fully interactive, 42-inch, HD digital signage display
The HP LD4200tm is a 42-inch diagonal, sleek black digital signage built to fit in trendy indoor environments, such as kiosks, retail, point of sale, shopping malls, travel terminals, hotel lobbies, recreational venues, universities, stock exchanges and hospitals.

It features infrared technology, which recognises multitouch gestures for onscreen interaction in 1,920 x 1,080 full HD native resolution to provide stunning views of video, graphics or text in both bright and dim lighting. In addition, an ultra-wide 178 x 178 degree viewing angle enables observation from almost any angle and, unlike TV screens, the HP LD4200tm is built to run 24/7 with low power usage while maintaining longevity. It also comes with a standard three-year limited warranty.

Pricing and availability
• The HP TouchSmart 300 starts at $US899 and is expected to be available Nov. 1.
• The HP TouchSmart 600 starts at $US1,049 and is expected available Oct. 22.
• The HP TouchSmart tx2 starts at $US799 and is expected to be available Oct. 22.
• The HP TouchSmart 9100 starts at $US1,299 and is expected to be available in December.
• The HP LD4200tm 42-inch widescreen LCD monitor starts at $US2,799 and is expected to be available in December.

With it, Windows users will have available to them a jailbreak solution for OS 3.1.2 on all iPhone and iPod touch generations. Installation is pretty simple: Download and install the app on your PC, then plug in your device. [On the iPhone via BGR]

Booting the old touch took 31 seconds. The new touch takes 19. Loading a web page dropped from 34 seconds to 15. And most games teetered between loading 33% and 50% faster.

Even with Apple not reaching that 50% benchmark across the board, Macworld is still impressed because the “the new iPod touch feels much faster at any task you throw at it: applications launch (and quit) faster, Web pages load more quickly, processor-intensive games and programs perform better-you name it”.

And the new touch should be faster. TUAW confirmed that this latest iPod to have a very similar ARM Cortex A8 processor as the quick iPhone 3GS, which is a surprise to absolutely no one. [Macworld and TUAW via The iPhone blog]

Those sites are claiming that there’s enough space to fit an iPod nano camera in the iPod touch 3rd generation. This is their evidence:

That’s OK. However, if you look at the guts of the iPod touch 2nd generation, you will find there’s probably plenty of space to fit a nano camera too:

So Apple may be able to fit the iPod nano camera in the iPod touch third generation and the second generation. So?

The question is: Why the hell should they do that? Why should Apple include the lame 640 x 480 webcam of the nano—a camera that Apple doesn’t allow to do still photos because they would look like crap—in a high end product like the iPod touch? Wouldn’t people expect the same quality as the camera in the iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS?

Like I already said in this analysis of the potential reasons, if there’s no iPod nano camera inside the iPod touch, it is probably because the nano webcam sucks. Plain and simple. It just doesn’t match the feature mix of the touch, and the standard set by the iPhone.

So no, I’m afraid there is no need to find mysterious conspiracies in this one, neither to justify failed rumourmongering. In this case, Jobs points out perfectly valid reasons for the exclusion of the camera in the third generation touch, even if that fact sucks. It’s a marketing decision on their part, not a technical one. He is not lying this time. You can crucify him for that, if you want. We already did.

I’m sure that, in time, they would include a camera in one of upgrade cycles, when they actually need it. But you can be sure that it will be a decent camera, and not the nano’s. [iFixIt's iPod touch 2nd generation and 3rd generation teardown]

The ah-ha moment comes once one compares the exposed internals of the just released iPod touch with the internals put on display back in mid-August. For all intents and purposes they are identical. Additionally, both of the internals differ, “convincingly”, from the guts in the iPod touch second generation unit, notes MacRumors.

So we know the camera was there, then it wasn’t. And we know there’s plenty of room left in there for at least an iPod nano-level cam.

We also know sources said this week that a camera could pop back in there without warning.

Regardless, this is all a rather peculiar development, no matter how Apple tries to spin things. It leads me, at least, to believe the rumours that said something happened at the very last minute. I’d also wait on picking one up just yet if you’re holding out hope for an iPod touch w/camera. [MacRumors]

According to their findings, the Broadcom BCM4329 chip does have support for 802.11n—a feature absent even in the iPhone 3GS. Needless to say, if you have a router and are tired of slumming with a/b/g, this would be a big deal. The chip also supports FM transmission, meaning that software support down the line could allow users to stream music directly to car stereos without any extra hardware—although that seems pretty remote.

Supporting earlier rumours about the last minute omission of a camera in the touch, the guys at iFixit noted that Apple seemed to leave enough space for a camera at the top of the device—a 6mm x 6mm x 3mm space between the Broadcom chip and the wireless antenna that just might be able to hold the small camera now found in the nano. Of course, empty space doesn’t help you if have your heart set on the 3rd generation touch, but you can keep your fingers crossed that Apple will switch on the other features via a software update down the line. [ifixit]

Q. You put a camcorder on the iPod Nano. Why not on the iPod Touch?

A. Originally, we weren’t exactly sure how to market the Touch. Was it an iPhone without the phone? Was it a pocket computer? What happened was, what customers told us was, they started to see it as a game machine. Because a lot of the games were free on the store. Customers started to tell us, “You don’t know what you’ve got here – it’s a great game machine, with the multitouch screen, the accelerometer, and so on.”

We started to market it that way, and it just took off. And now what we really see is it’s the lowest-cost way to the App Store, and that’s the big draw. So what we were focused on is just reducing the price to $US199. We don’t need to add new stuff – we need to get the price down where everyone can afford it.

So there you have it. Steve says that the reason for the iPod touch not having a camera is simple: People don’t want a camera on their iPod touch. They want a cheaper iPod touch purely as a game machine, no cameras involved. You know, like the Nintendo DSi. But he may be right about what people don’t want. Like when he said that nobody wanted video on a tiny screen, and then they released the iPod video. Or when he said that people didn’t want flash-based music players—as they always ended up in a drawer—and then the iPod shuffle arrived. Or when he argued that most people didn’t want FM radio in digital media players, and… ah well, nevermind. [NYT]

MC027LL/A – IPOD NANO 8GB – SILVER
MC031LL/A – IPOD NANO 8GB – BLACK
MC034LL/A – IPOD NANO 8GB – PURPLE
MC037LL/A – IPOD NANO 8GB – BLUE
MC040LL/A – IPOD NANO 8GB – GREEN
MC043LL/A – IPOD NANO 8GB – YELLOW
MC046LL/A – IPOD NANO 8GB – ORANGE
MC049LL/A – IPOD NANO 8GB – RED
MC050LL/A – IPOD NANO 8GB – PINK
MC060LL/A – IPOD NANO 16GB – SILVER
MC062LL/A – IPOD NANO 16GB – BLACK
MC064LL/A – IPOD NANO 16GB – PURPLE
MC066LL/A – IPOD NANO 16GB – BLUE
MC068LL/A – IPOD NANO 16GB – GREEN
MC070LL/A – IPOD NANO 16GB – YELLOW
MC072LL/A – IPOD NANO 16GB – ORANGE
MC074LL/A – IPOD NANO 16GB – RED
MC075LL/A – IPOD NANO 16GB – PINK
MC293LL/A – IPOD CLASSIC 160GB – SILVER
MC297LL/A – IPOD CLASSIC 160GB – BLACK
MC306LL/A – IPOD SHUFFLE 2GB – SILVER
MC307LL/A – IPOD SHUFFLE 4GB – GREEN
MC323LL/A – IPOD SHUFFLE 2GB – BLACK
MC328LL/A- IPOD SHUFFLE 4GB – BLUE
MC331LL/A – IPOD SHUFFLE 4GB – PINK
MC381LL/A – IPOD SHUFFLE 2GB – GREEN
MC384LL/A – IPOD SHUFFLE 2GB – BLUE
MC387LL/A – IPOD SHUFFLE 2GB – PINK

The good news of iPod classic lovers: It’s still alive at 160GB. And the shuffles come in colours now. Wheeee! Or something like that.

[AppleInsider]