The new line smartphones range from AUD 499 up to AUD 999 and go on sale at the end of the month, including the company’s special edition liquid E Ferrari handset, which features a glossy red casing, a 3.5″ screen that runs on Google Android 2.1 and a chrome trim.

The other models are the standard liquid E, Stream, beTouch E120 and beTouch E130. In the event, Acer revealed that it had forged a partnership with Ingram Micro for the supply of the devices.

Mobile phone makers often launch new handsets through their telecommunication carriers before releasing it through the IT channel. But Acer said that it did not expect to close a deal with a telecommunication company until next year, in spite the fact that it has existing relationships with companies such as Telstra and Optus.

According to IBM, the z196 processor features new software to optimize performance of data-heavy workloads, including up to a 60 percent improvement in data intensive and Java workloads.

IBM has invested more than $1.5 billion in R&D on the zEnterprise line, including more than three years of collaboration with some of the company’s top clients around the world. 

Pricing information for the zEnterprise System was not disclosed.

The lithium-ion battery provides USB power ports allowing users to easily plug and charge devices like iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches. If you’re using only one USB port with the output power of 500mA, it will last approximately four hours (2 hours with 1A output power). If you’ve got more than one device that needs charging, you need to charge two devices simultaneously supplying about two hours of power from each port.

You can charge the eneloop mobile booster using the associated AC adapter or USB. The eneloop series goes on sale in Japan first and will launch globally after that.

CloudStart is offered by HP Cloud Consulting Services and will use the company’s Cloud Service Automation tools, which helps enterprises with their cloud installations and provides automation tools to manage cloud-based applications, according to HP. CloudStart will also use its storage and blade servers, HP said in a statement.

HP said CloudStart should allow an enterprise to build a private cloud in 30 days. Clouds can be rolled out in a number of different ways: using a cloud service provider like Amazon, building one internally or using a mixture of the two. The latter is usually called a hybrid cloud.

According to HP, the CloudStart package is available in Asia-Pacific and Japan now, and is expected to be available in the rest of the world in December, but didn’t provide any pricing information.

According to the contract, IBM to provide the software and services designed to improve visibility and management of KiwiRail tracks, bridges and other network assets.

IBM’s enterprise asset management product Maximo will delivering information on the condition of the 4000km of railway track, bridges and thousands of pieces of rail equipment, as well as signals.

IBM New Zealand general sales manager Phill Patton says its business analytics software will present data on how often KiwiRail is maintaining its tracks and how it is managing its assets so it can be read by “the guy working at the line all the way up to the top”.

This will help KiwiRail maintenance crews to have up-to-date information on assets, job plans, work-order tracking and service requests.

The China Daily reported that about 40 Lenovo software engineers have been spun off from the company to work for Beijing eedoo Technology, which will be tasked with developing and marketing the “eBox” game console.

Lenovo, its unlisted parent Legend Holdings, and its private equity arm Legend Capital co-invested in the new company, but did not disclose investment figures.

Lenovo has been trying to diversify away from selling only the heavily commoditized personal computer, having launched in the past year a smartphone in its home market and announcing plans to roll out a tablet PC.

Lenovo and eedoo officials were not immediately available for comment.

Available in red or blue, the Sony device has quite a few solid features, namely the 8.1-megapixel camera that also shoots 720p HD video. Users can upload their creations directly from the Vivaz via built-in Wi-Fi to the pre-loaded YouTube and Picasa links. Other specs to be aware of on the Vivaz include the 3.2-inch nHD color touchscreen (640 x 360 resolution), multitasking, voice recognition, a GPS and Bluetooth.

The Vivaz will available on September 5, for only $79.99, following a $50 mail-in rebate and with the signing of a new two-year service agreement. Interested buyers can either pick it up in traditional Galaxy Blue or try to score one of the limited Venus Ruby editions online.

This contract enables the state to contain costs while meeting new HIPAA requirements, and to improve healthcare delivery, provider satisfaction and recipient access to personal healthcare information.

HP said the new contract extends its 30-year relationship with Alabama’s Medicaid agency, which oversees the Medicaid program for more than 900,000 state residents each year. HP processed nearly 32 million Medicaid claims for Alabama healthcare providers in 2009.

HP said it will upgrade the system’s standard electronic transaction codes from HIPAA 4010 to 5010 and assess the system for changes required to support the new ICD-10 diagnosis code set. The company will also incorporate e-prescribing, a recipient care web portal, automated process for providers to enroll in Medicaid, and CMS correct-coding software.

Acer 4741ZG, one of the customized models, begins on sale on the platform of 360buy.com on August 23, 2010. The laptop is equipped with Intel P6100 processor, 2GB memory, 320GB hard disk, 512MB graphic card and 14-inch screen.

Sun Jiaming, vice president of 360buy.com, pointed out that 3C products tend to be more individualized, retailers could designate the shape design, configuration and functions of customized products. Therefore, these products are more competitive in terms of price.

Sun reveals that the 10,000 laptops will be easy to sell, since their configurations are ascertained after the analysis of its own sales data, let alone the brand influence of Acer.

Besides Acer laptops, 360buy.com will launch other customized products in partnership with mobile phone, digital camera and home appliance makers. In the future, customized products will account for more than 50% of the sales value of 360buy.com Web site.

This technology enables the internal wiring of a mobile device to be streamlined through a single cable (copper wire). Conventionally, the video, audio and control signals as well as the power transmission were spread out over several dozen cables within the movable mechanisms of mobile devices, such as hinges or rotating parts. Sony aims to promptly implement this technology to improve design flexibility, reliability and durability for mobile devices with movable mechanisms.

Sony ’single wire interface technology’ has achieved bi-directional transmission of several kinds of signals, including video, audio and control signals, by using time division duplex and multiplex. In addition, the DC power is supplied on the same signal cable. Sony’s unique encoding technology with DC balance enables both DC power supply and high speed data to be transmitted within a limited frequency bandwidth.

In order to swiftly begin practical implementation of this technology, Sony has teamed up with ROHM Co., Ltd., which has a track record in peripheral technologies, for the joint development and technical validation for the analog portion of the test chip. Hereafter, Sony will grant ROHM a license for the IP of the digital portion of this newly-developed technology in order to advance the development of a single chip which includes both the analog and digital portions. (Read more on marketwatch)