If you've got a PSP-2000 and a hankering for some VoIP on the run, Sony has finally brought its Skype-friendly PSP headset to US retail. Unfortunately, it won't work with those original fatty PSPs, and at $30 you've gotta ask yourself how much you'll really be using it for -- the original price was set at $20. That said, it's undoubtedly the easiest way to get up and running with Skype and in-game voice chat on the PSP, since it used to require two separate accessories to pull it off. Oh, and if you're Skype curious, be sure to check out the how-to guide over at PSP Fanboy.

While our primary gripe with the 360 continues to be drive noise, any improvements to the console that might subdue the impression it's eating our games and heating our continent would certainly be welcome. Microsoft's Jasper 65nm chipset has been in the works for the Xbox 360 for a while, and now reports are coming fast and furious that Taiwanese companies are picking up the contracts for the chips, and the new setup will be sucking down less wattage and pumping out less heat by August of this year. After that attention will turn to the rumored Valhalla, to be built by the same Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which will combine the CPU and GPU into a new super-efficient chip for fall of '09 if these reports are anything to go by.

[Via Joystiq]

For every Apple and Nintendo fanboy out there, there is another equally zealous person entertaining a hope against hope that if only these two companies could somehow join forces, the world would be free from war, disease and famine. Apple apparently saw it fit to entertain those fantasies, and has a patent from November 2006 with some interesting Wiimote-esque functionality for what we presume to be the Apple TV. In fact, the patented controller seems to be suspiciously similar to the Wii controller in function, with a similar accelerometer and positioning setup, and Apple clearly states the proposed controller's relation to gaming, in addition to other functions like zooming in on images. Unfortunately for the dreamers out there, Apple patents out-there stuff all the time that never sees the light of day, and we're sure Nintendo wouldn't be all friendly about Apple turning the Apple TV into a Wii-killer. But hey, let's not let facts get in the way of unadulterated magnificence.

[Thanks, Mark]

While not quite as exciting as March's week of Latitude scoops, we've got ourselves some infos on what look to be Dell's upcoming Inspiron 1435, 1535 and 1735 consumer laptops. Seems they'll all be sharing the same basic design language, pictured above, and will be privy to some rather expansive aesthetic customization options if you're into that type of thing. Specs are the typical Dell smorgasbord of options, but all three laptops start at around 1-inch thick and taper up to 1.5 inches thick. All three also sport slot-loading drives, with a Blu-ray option, and processors ramp up to Core 2 Duo T5850 2.16GHz chips. 3G options are also available across the lineup, and just about anything else you might find useful in a mid-range laptop. Apparently the 1435 isn't due until October, but the 1735 is coming on June 9 and the 1535 on the 26th of this month.

We got to plant our eyeballs on Pioneer's second-gen KURO plasma display (bottom center), along with all that other new gear Pioneer released today. While all by its lonesome the new flagship display is no doubt impressive, when stacked up against the competition it becomes quite clear that this new KURO is the one to beat. Granted, this was Pioneer's own setup designed to make us believe precisely that, but we certainly did find the new display notably blacker than its predecessor, and quite a lot better than the competing offerings Pioneer had on display. The new KURO projector was also quite impressive, and we even got treated to the much-improved start times of Pioneer's new Blu-ray players.

At last the moment you've been waiting for. Microsoft wants to hit your version of Windows with an update, and this time you don't have to go rummaging around the internet to find it: just fire up Windows Update and let Microsoft do all the work. After a few false starts XP users get the much-anticipated SP3 update, which promises speed boosts and some of the fancy security features found in Vista. If you're a Vista user you're also in luck, since Microsoft has restarted its Vista SP1 distribution after some compatibility problems with Microsoft Dynamics RMS. Sounds like a party.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

You know you're in for a treat any time your favorite gargantuan Texas-based computer company claims to have captured the "downtown art scene" and "youth culture" on a laptop lid, but we've gotta give Dell credit for these new designs courtesy of Mike Ming. Unfortunately, the new "Bunch O Surfers" and "Sea Sky" (pictured) looks have been tacked onto Dell's boring-as-could-be Inspiron 1525 budget laptop. But hey, not bad at all for $699, especially considering the 3GB of RAM that comes standard. Another shot after the break.

A friendly neighborhood AT&T employee forwarded us a purported memo for AT&T retail store employees that could provide a rather telling clue about the next-gen iPhone's release date this summer if it proves true. A similar memo went out last year around this time requesting that employees not take any vacations between June 15 and July 15, and this year those dates are June 15 and July 12 -- which seems suspiciously early, but that's what the man says. The memo cites "an exciting Summer Promotional Launch," which we're guessing doesn't refer to some new Motorola flip phone. Also telling is the fact that employees might be able to take some vacations later within that window when things die down a bit, which seems to imply that Apple could be aiming for a launch date right around the iPhone's one year anniversary of June 29th. How romantic.

We're all about reviews of products before they're released, but reviewing something before it's even been officially confirmed by a company is its own special brand of magnificent. Granted, these are more like the hands-on impressions of a self-confessed BlackBerry addict, who was willing to fork over $828 US on the off chance that the eBay auction the other day was actually legit. A week later Kevin of CrackBerry.com has the BlackBerry 9000 in hand and seems to be loving every minute of it. Apparently the keyboard is better than the 8800 series, the OS4.6 is smooth, fast and pretty, and the 480 x 320 LCD is "awesome." And don't get Kevin started on 3G: the logo alone brought a tear to his eye -- we're clearly dealing with a bona fide fanboy here. That said, it's an encouraging sign to see all those leaked shots weren't just for show, there's a real-live performer behind the legend. Kevin's major caveat is the size and weight of the phone, compared to his Curve, but we're sure the $828 hole in his checking account will have him coming to terms with that drawback in the near future. He'll be posting more details and impressions as he goes.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Hear that? That's the sound of dozens of Canadians rejoicing as they finally get a launch date for the Zune in Canada, a year and a half after Zune's debut in the US. As rumored, Canadians will have a slightly limited lineup on offer, with no 30GB or green versions to puzzle over, but the red Zune 80 will indeed be making an appearance, along with the rest of the players. Prices range from $140 to $250 Canadian Dollars, which sources tell us is a real currency akin to salt traded by the ancients or a Starbucks Card.

While we're still waiting for the early year flirtations of NBC and Apple to sprout into a renewed relationship, it looks like Microsoft is picking up the ball and running with it. The new Zune Marketplace TV lineup includes NBC favorites "The Office, "Heroes" and "30 Rock," in addition to popular shows from Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, and Sci Fi Channel. Over 800 episodes in total are available at the moment, and all of them are going for 160 Microsoft Points -- about $2.00. A more complete list is after the break.

We've got some hands-on shots and impressions with the newly announced HTC Touch Diamond that we'll be sharing with you shortly, but here are some official press shots to whet your appetite. Tell it to us one more time, HTC. VGA? You really do love us.

After the beating the company is taking in the stock market, and with several prominent investors stepping forward to express dissatisfaction with how things were handled, Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang says he was willing to discuss things further if Microsoft hadn't turned its back on the offer. "We did not say it was a take-it-or-leave-it number in the sense that we would never negotiate any more," he said, referring to the $37 figure. "We were totally willing to do a transaction, and they walked away." Deep down we know he's just miffed to be missing out on sleeping bag to sleeping bag discussions with Ballmer about adding an exclamation mark to Microsoft. Dream on, Yang.

[Via Silicon Valley Insider]

Update: Microsoft claims "we've moved on."

Microsoft has quite a bit in store for the Zune faithful with its new Zune version 2.5 software update. The high points are the new Zune Card integration and the addition of TV show downloads on Zune Marketplace, but much-requested features like gapless playback, improved syncing controls, meta data editing, auto playlists and other tweaks have also been included. On the marketing front, Microsoft is really pushing the Zune Pass going forward, and will be launching a new TV commercial to help plug it. Subscribers will particularly benefit from the new Zune Card sharing, which lets you automatically score copies of your pals' favorite songs, artists and recent plays -- non-subscribers can view that Zune Card info, but will have to buy the tracks if they want to have a listen. Unfortunately, news on the video store front isn't so compelling: Microsoft is only adding TV shows at this point, no movies, and there's no way to pull video you've bought on your 360 over to your Zune. There's no reason Microsoft can't close this loop and turn some scattered media offerings into a compelling ecosystem, but until then we suppose we'll have to thank our lucky stars that we can shell out 160 MS Points ($2.00) for TV shows we can watch for free online. The 2.5 Spring Update is a free download and should be available nowish.

We've been spending some quality time with the high-end gaming products from SteelSeries, and we have to say we're impressed. The Ikari laser mouse they announced last year is particularly great, with a built-in processor and sensitivity settings to allow for a customized and precise sensitivity setting in a plug-and-play setup particularly suited to professional gamers. Settings are easy to work, and the actual sensitivity and response of the mouse easily outclasses our prior mousing experiences.

New to the market is the SteelSeries 7G keyboard, which is making its debut on Monday the 5th. The keyboard is fully mechanical, with no-click switches that give it a much stronger, smoother tactile feel, while simultaneously catering to gamers by registering half presses. The keyboard weighs a ton thanks to the heavy-duty iron-infused plastic and the gold electronics, and is quite capable of handling abuse. We grew up typing on heavy-duty keyboards, and this is easily the best one we've used this decade -- though the $150 pricetag also makes it the most expensive outside of the Optimus Maximus.

Both of these products are obviously built for pro and casual gamers, but we found a productivity boost in our regular day-to-day blogging operations, which requires large quantities of precise link clicking (how's that for a resume line item?) and rapidly written posts. In addition to these two, SteelSeries is bringing its entire line of Euro-popular gaming peripherals to the States, including headphones and crazily fancy mouse pads.