Japanese electronics maker Toshiba Corp. said Tuesday it is developing technology for a 3-D television that won’t require special glasses.

Company spokeswoman Yuko Sugahara confirmed such technology was in the works. But she declined to comment on a report in the Yomiuri newspaper that the Tokyo-based company plans to start selling the new TVs by the end of the year.

Mainstream 3-D TVs now on sale, such as those from rivals Panasonic Corp. and Sony Corp., require glasses. But there are already screens that don’t require glasses, mainly intended for store displays.

Dell Inc. said Tuesday its Aero smart phone is now on sale in the U.S. for $99 with a two-year AT&T contract.

The Dell Aero uses an older version of Google Inc.’s Android operating system than many competing phones on the market today. The Aero uses version 1.5, also called “cupcake,” while most phones now use version 1.6 or higher. Dell says it has done a significant amount of work adding features to the base Google system.

The Aero has a 3.5-inch touch screen and a 5-megapixel camera, and it has photo and video editing functions built in. Dell says the Aero can sync with Windows Media Player and music without copy protection from Apple Inc.’s iTunes.

Google and HTC are working together on a tablet-style computer to compete with Apple’s iPad, according to reports.

The tablet computer will run Google’s Chrome operating system, and will hit shops in November, possibly in time for Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving in the United States when electrical goods are traditionally heavily discounted.

According to technology blog Downloadsquad, the tablet will be available on the Verizon mobile network in the United States.

The blog, which cites an anonymous source, says that the Google tablet is likely to be subsidised by Verizon, and therefore will be cheaper than Apple’s iPad. Although the source did not provide the blog with any information about the specifics of the rumoured tablet, Downloadsquad expects the device to be based on NVidia’s Tegra 2 platform, boast a 32GB solid-state drive and a built-in webcam.

Just because mobile phones are becoming more like small computers doesn’t mean you should have to do a lot of typing on them.

That’s the thinking behind the latest update to Google Inc.’s popular Android software for mobile phones.

The latest version of Android 2.2, released Thursday, includes 10 new voice commands that can be used to operate phones without using a keypad.

Although Google says about 200,000 Android-powered phones are being sold each day, not all of them are equipped with the 2.2 operating system, also known as Froyo. Google’s Nexus One phone already runs on Froyo, but users will need to download free updates through its Android Market. Motorola Inc.’s Droid 2, which went on sale this week, already has the necessary updates. The features are expected to be added to HTC Corp.’s Evo and Incredible phones when they get Froyo in the coming months.

Google’s new “Voice Actions” tool” enables people to dictate their text messages and e-mails. The voice recognition technology automatically translates the spoken words into text.

Phone calls can be made simply by speaking the name of a person or business. The feature can also find and play songs with spoken commands.

Consumer Reports tested three iPhone 4s and several other AT&T phones in their RF isolation chamber that simulates varying levels of signal from every carrier, and found that the iPhone 4 was the only handset to suffer signal-loss issues.

What’s more, CR directly says that its findings call Apple’s explanation of a miscalculated signal meter into question since the tests “indicate that AT&T’s network might not be the primary suspect.” CR found that simply putting duct tape over the bottom-left corner is enough to alleviate the issue — we’re guessing that’s Jony Ive’s worst nightmare — and says that while the iPhone 4 has the “sharpest display and best video camera” of any phone it’s tested, it simply can’t recommend the device until Apple comes up with a permanent and free fix to the antenna problem.

Online retailer Amazon.com Inc. said Thursday it is introducing a new version of its higher-end Kindle at a lower price as competition among electronic-book readers intensifies.

The new version of its Kindle DX has a better screen that will display sharper images.

The large-screen reader, which Amazon hoped would catch on as a textbook substitute at universities, has free wireless over 3G cellular networks. It will be sold for $379, about 23 percent less than the $489 Amazon charged for the previous generation of the larger Kindle DX.

Amazon also said it improved the way the Kindle DX handles PDF documents, potentially solving a major complaint among students who tested out the Kindle in a pilot program over the past academic year. The original Kindle DX didn’t allow people to zoom in closer on PDFs, leaving graphics and small print difficult to decipher.

The new device can be pre-ordered immediately and will ship on July 7.

Could a blind person drive a car? Researchers are trying to make that far-fetched notion a reality.

The National Federation of the Blind and Virginia Tech plan to demonstrate a prototype vehicle next year equipped with technology that helps a blind person drive a car independently.

The technology, called “nonvisual interfaces,” uses sensors to let a blind driver maneuver a car based on information transmitted to him about his surroundings: whether another car or object is nearby, in front of him or in a neighboring lane.

The first slew of iPhone 4 complaints are in, among them that just holding the iPhone 4 a certain way can interfere with calls.

Apple Inc. redesigned the fourth generation of its smart phone, replacing sloping edges with a stainless steel band that wraps around the more squared-off sides. The metal band acts like a sturdy skeleton for the delicate phone, and it does double duty as the device’s antenna.

Some people said the iPhone 4 would disconnect mid-call when the phone was nestled in their hands in such a way that the lower-left corner of the device was covered.

While some iPhone owners reported no problems at all, others say the issue is intermittent: “It’s only every once and a while,” Lawrence Ho, 27, said outside the Apple store on New York’s Fifth Avenue on Friday.

How many people do you know who regret their tattoo? You grow up, you dump (or get dumped), or maybe you picked a tattoo “artist” that learned their craft in prison using ballpoint pens and a sharpened paper clip. At that point, your choices are: deal with it, get it covered up, or get shot with lasers to take it off. And nobody wants to go for a job interview only to be given the evil eye because you’re a little more inked than the current employees! Body modification discrimination is a sad fact of life.

What do you do when you want a tattoo but don’t want the commitment of permanent ink? The moodInq system is a breakthrough in tattoo technology, using a skin-safe proprietary E ink encapsulated pigment system that lasts a lifetime but can be configured to display any design (or none!) to suit your mood.

Amazon.com Inc and Barnes & Noble Inc reduced prices of their electronic readers on Monday, responding to the threat from Apple Inc’s iPad tablet computer.

Shares in both companies fell about 3 percent as investors feared intense competition could lure away buyers of e-books, the fastest-growing segment in a moribund bookselling industry.

Profit margins on Barnes & Noble’s Nook and Amazon’s Kindle are estimated by analysts to be relatively modest, but the devices are important to attracting book buyers.

Amazon announced its $70 price cut to $189 hours after Barnes & Noble lowered the price on its own 3G compatible “Nook” to $199. Both had cost $259.

Apple’s iPad, launched in April, can also function as an e-reader. It sold more than 2 million units in its first 60 days and its own e-bookstore has quickly won market share.

With the newest Apple iPhone unveiled and about to hit the market, attention is quickly turning to the next generation of another top-selling smartphone, the Verizon Wireless Droid. And in a case of history repeating itself, there are already leaked photos of the prototype.

The next iPhone comes out June 24 and will have a higher-resolution screen, longer battery life and thinner design.

CEO Steve Jobs opened Apple Inc.’s annual conference for software developers Monday by demonstrating the iPhone 4, which will cost $199 or $299 in the U.S. with a two-year AT&T contract, depending on the capacity. The iPhone 3GS, which debuted last year, will still be available, for $99.