Sarotech's newest might not be the wildest media player in town, but if you're looking to get down to business in a svelte (4.5 x 3.75 x 0.85-inch) package, the T2 should be more than up to the task. This bad boy sports a Sigma SMPS8653 CPU (500MHz), support for Full HD MKV, H.264 videos, DTS and Dolby sound, and 1080p HDMI 1.3 output. If that weren't enough, this will also apparently function as a NAS functions (including FTP and Samba), 802.11n WiFi, and it has a USB port for external storage. Available now in South Korea for 160,000 won (about $143

Looks like brain implants have just got a lot more effective -- and a lot creepier. Developed by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia, the new bio-integrated electronics eschew electrodes resembling needles or semi-flexible wires for an ultrathin flexible material that is made partly from silk. Since the new material "essentially melts into place" (scientists compare it to shrink-wrap), it hugs the brain, getting more effective readings than previous technology. It is hoped that the new technology will prove much more effective -- and extremely beneficial for patients with epilepsy, spinal cord injuries, and other neurological disorders. According to John Rogers, Ph.D., the man who invented the flexible electronics at the University of Illinois, "It may also be possible to compress the silk-based implants and deliver them to the brain, through a catheter." We wish these good folks the best of luck with their research -- and we really, really hope that we never have anything shot into our brain with a catheter

Last week's Finetech Japan 2010 expo allowed display manufacturers to show and tell each other about their latest innovations and advancements. One of the unquestioned highlights was NewSight's implementation of parallax barrier technology on displays up to 70 inches in size. The company is claiming its demo unit as the world's largest glasses-free 3D screen, but regrettably deprives us of any further details. All we're told is that the parallax barrier is "affixed to commercial-grade" LCDs, which suggests to us that perhaps the technique and hardware could be applied atop your favorite brand's existent 2D models. Of course, that'd only matter if these displays deliver a manifestly better picture and experience than what we have now, but it's looking like we'll have to wait a little bit longer to find out.

Well, it's not everyday you see a navigation unit that truly stands out from the rest, but Garmin has managed to do that with its new 3700 series, which are both completely new, yet somewhat... familiar. Available in nüvi 3790T, nüvi 3760T and nüvi 3750 models, the devices are all just 9mm thick, and pack a 4.3-inch capacitive WVGA display (with full multitouch), Garmin's own EcoRoute and nüRoute with trafficTrends services, the usual 2D and 3D views, and a microSD card slot for expansion, among other standard fare. The 3790T and 3760T also add Bluetooth and free lifetime traffic alerts, while the 3790T is the only one of the lot with complete voice-activated navigation including a customizable wake-up phrase. Of course, the real news here is the design, which has earned Garmin a Red Dot Design Award, and features a brushed metal enclosure, a flush glass display and only the minimum buttons required on the side. As you might have guessed, however, these aren't exactly Garmin's new entry-level offerings, with the 3750, 3760T and 3790T set to run $349, $399 and $449 when they roll out sometime in the third quarter.

Just a bit more than a year after we first laid eyes on iPhone OS 3.0, Apple is back with the latest big revision of the OS that powers the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. iPhone OS 4 is shipping this summer (iPad in the fall), and the developer preview will be out today. iPhone 3GS and new-gen iPod touch will get all the features, but some features won't make it to the iPhone 3G, original iPhone, and older iPod touches. The biggest new feature is multitasking, which Apple says is going to be the "best" implementation in the smartphone space, though it's obviously not the first. App switching is activated by double tapping the home button, which pulls up a "dock" of currently running apps, and Apple claims it can do this without hurting battery life or performance for the front app. Unfortunately, this multitasking won't be available for devices older than the 3GS and new iPod touch. Multitasking is just one of seven different new "tentpole" features, including Game Center, enhanced Mail, and more...

Notable new features for users ("tentpoles" are in bold):
•Multitasking.
•Spell check (like on the iPad).
•Bluetooth keyboard support (again, on the iPad).
•User-defined wallpaper (a jailbreak favorite).
•Tap to focus when recording video, just like with photos, and a 5x digital zoom for the camera.
•Playlist creation and nested playlists.
•App folders for sorting apps! You can even put an app folder in the dock.
•Enhanced Mail! You can have a merged inbox view, switch between inboxes quickly, and sync to more than one Exchange account. There's also threaded messaging (at last!) and in-app attachment viewing.
•iBooks, just like on iPad, only smaller. You can wirelessly sync books between platforms, a la Kindle.
•Enterprise features, including remote device management and wireless app distribution.
•Game Center. It's like Xbox Live, but for iPhone games. Includes achievements, leaderboards, and match making. It will be available as a "developer preview," and out for consumers later this year.

Developers are getting plenty of new tricks too:
•New SDK, available today.
•1,500 new APIs.
•Background audio (think Pandora).
•Background VoIP (think Skype).
•Background location data, both with live GPS for backgrounded turn-by-turn, and cell tower-based for lower power draw.
•Local notifications. Like push notifications, but sends a notification straight from the app without needing a push notification server, perfect for an alarm, for instance.
•Fast app switching. Saves the state of an app and resumes it from where you left off, without dwelling in memory.
•iAd. Apple says it's for keeping "free apps free." The ads keep you in the app, while also taking over the screen and adding interactivity -- using HTML 5 for video -- up to simple gaming in-ad. Apple will offer a 60 / 40 split on revenue, and users can even buy apps straight from an ad.
•In-app SMS.
•Map overlays.
•Quick look for previewing documents.
•Photo Library access.
•Calendar access.
•Full access to the camera.
•Video playback and capture.
•Date and address "data detectors."
•Automated testing and performance / power analysis (the same tools Apple uses).

America has spoken (at least the TV-addicted, iPhone owning segment) and the cry is being heard: they want to control their DVRs from their handset! The Verizon FiOS DVR Manager sounds pretty straightforward: set your DVR! Set parental controls! Bookmark, browse, search TV programming, and more! Kind of makes that old iTunes-based media management system seem a little weak sauce, doesn't it? Of course, if you're out at dinner or in a meeting and you're being driven to distraction trying to remember if Ninja Assassin is a video-on-demand selection this month, you probably have much bigger problems than on-the-road DVR management. But that's none of our business. Compatible with your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad sportin' OS 3.0 or later.Hit the source link to download now!

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App Store

If you didn't already have enough ways to get content onto your iPhone, Marusys is adding two more to the pile with its MS630S and MS850S set-top boxes. Said to be PVR-ready, these boxes are designed to serve up content in all sorts of ways, with composite, component, and HDMI video outputs on the back and, inside, the ability to run Linux-based media players like XBMC. Both rock a Magnum DX6225 media chip, enabling on-the-fly transcoding of content into a variety of formats, including the hallmark feature of these devices: streaming straight to the iPhone over WiFi. It's not exactly clear how this will work as Marusys itself doesn't explain this functionality on its site, but Magnum certainly talks it up in the press release after the break. No word on price and availability of either, or when we might get more info on how this whole thing fits together, but you can be sure you'll know as soon as we do.