A team of scientists has announced a breakthrough in computer memory technology that heralded more sophisticated and reliable MP3 players, digital cameras and other devices. Scientists from IBM, Macronix and Qimonda said they developed a material that made “phase-change” memory 500 to 1,000 times faster than the commonly-used “flash” memory, while using half as much power. At the heart of phase-change memory is a tiny chunk of alloy that can be changed rapidly between an ordered, crystalline phase and a disordered, amorphous phase. Because no electrical power is required to maintain either phase of the material, phase-change memory is “non-volatile.”

A battery technology that was touted nine years ago for notebooks may finally get its day in the sun. Notebook makers will “likely” soon choose to incorporate lithium polymer batteries over the current standard, lithium ion batteries. [I will be testing out a new Lithium Polymer battery vs. the OEM Lithium Ion battery for my Pocket PC phone, so we’ll so how it measures up.–Ed.]

When Iranian journalist Mojtaba Saminejad was sentenced to two years in prison for insulting the country’s Supreme Leader, it was not for an article that appeared in a newspaper. His offending story was posted on his personal Web blog. Nearly one-third of journalists now serving time in prisons around the world published their work on the Internet, the second-largest category behind print journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said in an analysis released Thursday. The bulk of Internet journalists in jail–49 in total–shows that “authoritarian states are becoming more determined to control the Internet,” said Joel Simon, executive director of the New York-based the Committee to Protect Journalists.

PDAparts.com has just posted take apart directions for the Treo 680. This gives a look inside the new Treo 680 unit. They also recently posted directions to take apart a LifeDrive and Treo 700w. Of course following these direction or doing a take apart on a unit will void your warranty, but then again most PDA companies do not warranty a broken screen anyway. PDAparts.com is known for carrying hard to find part for most PDA units including replacement screens.

Proporta is feeling particularly festive this Christmas holiday… and as it is the season to be giving, if you do not have a Promotion Code, Proporta is giving you the opportunity to add 1 of 3 products to your basket–absolutely free. Simply click on the “To Checkout” button and make your selection. You can choose between Cable Tidies to help you keep all your cables in check, an Aluminum SD Card Holder to keep your memory safe, or Mobile Device Cleaning Fluid. Merry Christmas from all at Proporta.

KOYONO is honored to have its line of Made for iPod jackets be considered one of “the coolest new products and trends designed for regular people” by Fine Living. KOYONO’s newest line of outerwear will inspire men to more seamlessly balance work, travel and entertainment with maximum ease, style and comfort. The BlackCoat outerwear line has always included jackets and overcoats that fuse high-performance materials and clever pocketing with designer styling that is a favorite among travelers and commuters. Theses new additions, named Work, Sport, and Surf also carry the Made for iPod label. Along with the catwalk-ready forms and high-performance materials, they each include ElekTex, a smart fabric technology from Eleksen Group that has been integrated into the lapels as iPod control pads. This allows you to leave an iPod tucked away safely inside a specially-designed pocket while giving you full control over all aspects of the iPod, including volume, track changes, and even the power switch.

Microsoft forecast on Wednesday that sales of its Zune music player will exceed one million units by the end of June 2007 despite a tepid start for the device. Earlier this week, a report from market research firm NPD Group showed that Zune’s share of the U.S. digital music player market fell to 2 percent and fifth place in the week ended November 25, the second week of sales since its release. Zune was second with a 9 percent market share in the first week after launch. Microsoft, which had never announced a forecast for Zune sales, said it is now on a path to sell more than one million units by June 30, the end of its current fiscal year.

Alltel Wireless and Research In Motion announced that the BlackBerry 8703e wireless handset is available to Alltel customers. The BlackBerry 8703e supports phone, email, messaging, organizer, browser and other mobile applications that work on Alltel’s next generation high-speed Axcess Broadband network and supports turn-by-turn navigation with its built-in GPS capabilities. The BlackBerry 8703e allows customers to maintain wireless connectivity nationwide to a full suite of applications. It features a bright, high-resolution color LCD screen that provides ample workspace for viewing email, Web pages, and other applications. Intelligent light sensing technology automatically optimizes screen light.

With the Belkin Wi-Fi Phone for Skype, you can now make Skype calls anywhere that you can connect to a Boingo Wireless hot spot. Now equipped with Boingo Mobile, a Wi-Fi

Palm announced it has signed an agreement with ACCESS Systems Americas (formerly PalmSource) to license the source code for Palm OS Garnet, the version of the Palm OS used in several Treo smartphone models and all Palm handheld computers. Under the agreement, Palm has a perpetual license to use as well as to innovate on the Palm OS Garnet code base. Palm will retain ownership rights in its innovations. The new agreement also provides Palm flexibility to use Palm OS Garnet in whole or in part in any Palm product, and together with any other system technologies. The company plans to ensure that applications now compatible with Palm OS Garnet will operate with little or no modification in future Palm products that employ Palm OS Garnet as the company evolves it over time to support Palm’s product differentiation strategy.