We've just heard some pretty sour news. Peter Schneider, head of Maemo marketing, has waxed official about the N900's release and quite casually noted that it'll "start shipping during November 2009," which as you very well know is a whole month later than originally expected. An interesting tidbit to his post is that he notes Nokia had lent out 300 pre-production units to the community, and he stresses the importance Nokia places on the feedback received. Connecting the dots might suggest that feedback wasn't quite as hot as Espoo had hoped, and a few last-minute refinements are now being applied. Either way, you're gonna have to refill your patience for potentially another month of waiting.

[Via Chronicles of N900; Thanks, Habib Q]

We've been enjoying (or just dealing with, depending on perspective) PCI Express 2.0 since early 2007, and it now looks as if we may still be utilizing said protocol come early 2011. Way back in June of '08, we began to hear whispers that the next iteration of the technology would be finalized by the end of this year, but now the PCI SIG has formally delayed the release of the specification until the second quarter of 2010. What does that mean for the consumer? Try coping with the fact that you won't see a PCIe 3.0 product until 2011. As the story goes, the delay was needed in order to "maintain backward compatibility with current PCI Express standards," and while the technical details of all that may interest some, it's the awfully unfortunate setback that's most notable here. But hey, at least all those PCIe 1.0 cards that are still totally relevant will work with your next (next-next?) PC!

[Via Reg Hardware]

HTC's been on somewhat of a hot streak here lately, but word on the street has it that the aforesaid outfit may not be able to ship all of its forthcoming handsets on time. A new Wall Street Journal report on falling revenue in the HTC camp notes that an undisclosed amount of delays, a larger-than-anticipated drop in contract orders and lower-than-expected sales in China could lead to drooping income in the short term, and some analysts are pointing out that the company's average selling price per phone is sliding due to looming Android competition from the likes of Motorola and Sony Ericsson. Aside from the Touch Pro2 that'll probably never, ever land on Sprint, HTC has about a gazillion other rumored handsets on the horizon, but it's hard to know for sure which "product launches" are expected to be stalled. So, is HTC secretly retooling a smattering of its handsets in order to stay one step ahead of SE and Moto? Or are old fashioned supply chain inefficiencies to blame?

We sort of saw the writing on the wall, but now Belkin has went and made it official: the FlyWire is dead. Originally showcased at CES 2008 and at practically every AV-related trade show since, the wireless HD-enabling FlyWire was seen as the poster child for wireless HD / HDMI by many, and the death of this product certainly doesn't bode well for the technology as a whole. It's true that AMIMON -- the wireless startup responsible for the WHDI technology within the FlyWire and a few other devices -- just landed an extra $10 million in VC funding, but still, we've literally been waiting years for this so-called "promising technology" to get a foothold in the market. Or even make a wave, really.

As has become customary these days, Belkin is also pinning the cancellation of the FlyWire on the economy, with a spokesperson telling us that the "retail price of $1,499 would be out of line given the current state of the economy." She continued by stating that the company has "opted to halt production of FlyWire" and "will no longer be introducing [it] to the market." Granted, the company does seem somewhat apologetic, concluding that "there will be some disappointed folks out there, but [Belkin's] end goal is to introduce products that are accessible and that make sense in the current environment."


Frankly, we're not buying it. In April, Belkin affirmed to us that while AMIMON's WDHI technology was "solid," it was taking its sweet time in order to "pay very close attention to the user experience, such as the packaging, setup, and the quick install guide." We could be way off base here, but we'd say the economy was sucking quite a bit harder in April than it is today. And honestly, that's beside the point. A $1,500 device that enabled a Blu-ray player to communicate wirelessly with an HDTV is obviously a luxury item, and regardless of unemployment numbers, Belkin had to know that the FlyWire would only appeal to upscale consumers. You know, the same folks who also put in an order for a Ferrari California in 1H 2009 while their hedge fund dived.

To us, the sudden death of the FlyWire is more of an industry signal than anything. For quite some while, we've been wondering when the industry at large would embrace wireless HD and HDMI technology, and now we're beginning to think that said embrace will never happen in any significant capacity. Even Wireless USB couldn't cut it, and we're guessing there are an awful lot more USB users out there than HDMI. If the price dropped dramatically and the sector consolidated a bit in order to agree on a single standard, we'd say wireless HD / HDMI has a fighting chance. 'Til that happens, you can pretty much bank on the FlyWire fiasco becoming a model for the rest. Belkin's statement in full is past the break.

If you've a proven track record of delivering solid products to consumers (much like Garmin has), we'll cut you some slack for awhile if you happen to hit a snag or two along the way while bringing a completely new device to market. But after more delays than we care to count and a 1.5 year gap between announcement and right now, the benefit of the doubt vanishes. To that end, we couldn't be happier to report that Garmin's president and COO Cliff Pemble feels that it's "getting very close" to a carrier launch (AT&T, perhaps?) in the US. Said statement was given at a shareholders meeting today, and he also mentioned that the Asian market would see the Nuvifone "this month or in early July." We appreciate the update, but at this point, the burden of proof is squarely on you, Garmin.

[Via Electronista]

And you wonder why people refuse to take wireless HD / HDMI seriously. A full 15 months after Belkin's FlyWire was introduced at CES 2008, the world is still waiting for it to ship. When launched, it promised the consumer world a device that would take multiple HDMI devices and stream them (one at a time, obviously) to your HDTV sans wires. The box itself relies on AMIMON's WHDI technology, and while we've seen with our own eyes just how marvelous it works, Earthlings won't be able to purchase one until -- drumroll, please -- August 2009. According to a Belkin PR manager that we spoke with on the matter, the January 2009 ship date has now slipped to late summer for the US market, though the altogether painful $1,499 price tag remains firmly in tact. So, what's the over / under on Belkin actually keeping its word this go 'round?

Update: Contrary to some reports, the delay is absolutely not related to WHDI. Belkin's own PR team has confirmed that the hold-up is in no way related to WHDI, but that it is "paying very close attention to the user experience." In other words, it's delaying things to get things totally right, and for $1,500, we'd expect nothing less than perfection.

You know things are rough in the auto industry when even an electric car company is struggling to carry on, but that's exactly what seems to be happening with Pininfarina. After showcasing its rather cute B0 electric car at the Paris Motor Show last year, the company was slated to debut a prototype with a working engine at next week's show in Geneva. Instead, it'll be hosting up that same B0 shell as before, with an undisclosed inside source noting that lingering debt problems were forcing the delay. Unfortunately, the mole failed to elaborate on the matter, so we're left with absolutely no indication of when the company may switch gears and forge ahead with production. In other words, don't bank on this being your next ride -- unless you plan on lending the designing company a few hundred million to clear a path forward, of course.

[Via Register Hardware]

Oh, bollocks! When CERN's Large Hadron Collider started up this past September, we figured it was only a matter of time before the world as we knew it imploded. Thus, we did as any reasonable group of individuals would do and evaporated our life savings before being beamed up. Now, we're stuck waiting around (with four or five pennies) for this September, as that's the new restart date following the LHC's run-in with bad luck late last year. If all goes to plan this go 'round, the machine will run into autumn of 2010, when engineers will hopefully see collisions of lead ions. Needless to say, gurus are implementing a new enhanced protection system to keep things from going so wrongly again, but you never can tell what'll happen when smashing atoms, now can you?

[Via CNET]

If you've been waiting (and waiting) for Plastic Logic's ultra-durable e-reader, you'll have to stick with recycled paper for another dozen months or so. According to a company representative at the outfit's CES kiosk, the device is now scheduled for an "early 2010" release, and as expected, final pricing has yet to be determined. Though, Mr. Joe (seriously, that's his first name) did admit that it would be "competitively priced for rapid adoption" and that the company would be pushing hard to get this into corporations / enterprises. Don't believe us? The full five minute interview is there in the read link.

[Thanks, credo]

Wait, wait -- you're telling us InPhase Technologies may be the latest and greatest poster child for vaporware? Say it ain't so! After promising (and promising) a holographic storage solution for upwards of three years now, the outfit is delaying its dead-to-the-world Tapestry solution yet again, this time to late 2009. In theory, the company would introduce a drive that could record up to 300GB on a $180 CD-sized disc around this time next year, but with Blu-ray already up to 50GB and Royal Digital Media introducing a 100GB alternative, who's to say 300GB won't look puny by November '09? And besides, we're also hearing that GE's Polymer Systems Lab is developing a "layered approach to holographic storage" that will soon result in -- you guessed it -- 300GB discs. The difference? GE is a real company.

You've got to be kidding us. No, seriously -- this has to be a joke. Just last month, we witnessed in person a FlyWire unit beaming a 1080p Blu-ray signal wirelessly to an HDTV, and the results were nothing short of astonishing. For whatever reason, the box -- which was officially unveiled back at CES 2008 -- won't even be ready for next year's Vegas extravaganza. While we were told at CEDIA that the unit would begin shipping out in October (like, right now), Melody Chalaban, a marketing executive and spokeswoman for Belkin has informed Electronic House that it "won't be able to make [its] anticipated deadline of the winter CES show." Unfortunately, she gave no indication of when it actually would ship, leaving us to wonder if the dawn of the wireless HD era is being pushed back altogether. Again.

Update: Melody herself contacted us to clarify a bit and provide some guidance for release. According to her, the FlyWire is being delayed due to "compliance issues, and it will be available late January 2009."

So it seems Nikon had a press preview all setup for October 22nd, reportedly to discuss the forthcoming MX format. We're not precisely sure if this ties directly in with that mysterious ad we saw at the front end of this month or not, but either way, it looks like the world will be waiting to find out. Reportedly, the new date for the conference will be on or around November 20th in Denmark, but we'd even take that with a hint of salt for the time being. In all seriousness, it's like Nikon is stuck in a perpetual warp tunnel of rumors, so don't be shocked to hear something else totally juicy between now and then.

[Via Electronista]

Read - Original plans
Read - Delay notice

We've long since known that RIM's BlackBerry Bold was AT&T bound, but in case you haven't noticed, the rumored October 2nd release date has come and went, and there's nary a Bold on any of AT&T's store shelves. According to RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis, the handset is still undergoing testing at AT&T, suggesting that it wanted to avoid the complaints that arose when the newest iPhone hit in July. AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel remained mum on the subject when asked, only affirming that the handset would eventually be available this year. Ah well, you've been looking for a reason to vacation in Chile, haven't you?

[Via phonescoop]

Okay, so we're pretty sure a fortnight after August 7th was August 21st, and while CherryPal was adamant it would finally release its $249 cloud PC then, it has since hit another snag. This go 'round, the company is blaming a "glitch with the graphics processor," which "absolutely needed to be addressed." Comically enough, it's suggesting that the unit will now ship -- gasp! -- two weeks from now, though we're more apt to believe you'd want to make out with Android if given the chance than to trust anything coming from the doors of CherryPal.

You know how it goes with Sony and PS3-related peripherals. A big introduction, followed by a slight delay, followed by a longer delay, followed by a little something to take the sting off. Here we have word from Noam Rimon, senior development manager at SCEA R&D, that the news-blasting (and uncomfortably named) Life with PlayStation will once again be delayed. According to Noam, Sony is "still pushing some paperwork" on the service, though he gave no expected time frame for the actual launch. Nevertheless, he softened the blow by announcing once and for all that it will indeed be free (and accessible directly from the XMB) whenever it finally goes live. Gotta take the good with the bad, we guess.