TOP TECHNOLOGY NEWS

PC makers are betting the attention on an upcoming generation of consumer tablets could help generate interest in their less attractive cousins — convertible notebooks that are also referred to as tablets.

HP has announced a new touch-enabled notebook that can twist into a slate-like tablet and open up to offer a traditional full keyboard laptop. Separately, Panasonic has launched a rugged convertible notebook called Toughbook C1, while Lenovo introduced its X201 convertible notebook earlier this month.

One in six iPhone owners surveyed by mobile ad company AdMob said they were planning to buy an Apple iPad this year.

Published Thursday, AdMob’s mobile metric survey polled 960 participants. 16 percent of iPhone owners said they “intend to purchase” an iPad in the next six months. Unsurprisingly, interest is less strong among Palm or Android users: 11 percent of webOS (Palm Pre) and 6 percent of Android users said they were likely to buy an iPad.

If the survey’s representative figures pan out, the iPad might kick off with a healthy start.

Tiny, pocket-sized cameras are wonderful, especially if they are the Canon S90, a stunningly capable camera for its size. The let you take great pictures at any time, but disappear into your pocket when you don’t need them.

The problem is that they can be too small. Holding a little compact while twisting its knobs and dials can be like snapping a picture with a slippery fish as it tries to slither free of your fingers.

You probably became acquainted with Meebo, a web-based instant-messaging tool, while using a public computer that didn’t allow you to run native IM clients. (College students who slack off in computer labs — I’m looking at you.) And now finally, the beloved IM service has its own iPhone app.

We caught a glimpse of the Meebo iPhone app almost a year ago at an Apple press event. It was the first IM client to demonstrate Apple’s push-notification service, which makes IMs pop up in the same way as text messages, even if your iPhone is asleep.

The Meebo app supports popular IM services including AOL Instant Messenger, Gchat and Facebook chat, as well as dozens of others. You start by setting up your accounts in a few easy steps, and immediately you’re ready to chat. The app is lightweight and fast. In addition to chatting with friends, you can view your chat histories and synchronize chat logs from your desktop.

Cellphone carriers worldwide are apparently sick of Apple’s iPhone App Store hogging all the attention and loot in the mobile software market. Two dozen of them are teaming up to open a cross-platform app store.

Carriers on board include Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, China Unicom, China Mobile, Softbank and Vodafone, among several others. The group has also partnered with three manufacturers — Samsung, LG, and Sony Ericsson — to support the initiative.

Announced at Mobile World Congress 2010 in Barcelona, Spain, the alliance’s goal is to create a “Wholesale Applications Community,” offering an open ecosystem that will enable developers to create one app for one store that’s accessible on a broad range of phones.

On Super Bowl Sunday, about 116 million viewers watched commercials touting Budweiser, Doritos and Coke — as well as spots promoting Flo TV, a service that promises to let you watch TV wherever you are.

It was a high-profile promotion for mobile TV, which despite years of innovation has failed to catch on outside of a few niches.

A mobile TV service from Qualcomm, Flo offers channels such as ESPN, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central for a monthly fee. You can watch Flo on your cellphone, in your car or on a dedicated device known as a personal television.

Like a Star Trek convention minus Leonard Nimoy, Macworld Conference and Expo 2010 kicks off Tuesday at San Francisco’s Moscone Center with no official presence from Apple.

Though the event will lack a Steve Jobs keynote and won’t have an Apple product introduction to generate buzz, 250 vendors will be showcasing Apple-related products at the convention, and a few key members of the Apple community will be giving speeches and presentations to the estimated 30,000 Apple fans who are expected to attend.

Did you know that your Lensbaby Composer has a removable optic inside? Using the right tool you can extract this glassy core and swap in one of Lensbaby’s new Fisheye or Soft Focus optics.

The Lensbaby Composer itself is a twist’n’shoot lens which bends to place the point of focus anywhere in the frame. It’s great fun to use, and can give some odd and unexpected effects to your photos.

Above you see two iPads, pictures of which are grabbed direct from Apple’s own pages. Can you spot the difference? Of course you can. The one on the right is the Wi-Fi-only iPad. The one on the left has 3G, and a plastic strip to let the radio-waves in and out. It’s the very opposite of a tin-foil hat.

Owners of the iPhone 3G and newer may not be familiar with this escape hatch for radiation — the entire back of your cellphone is a spectrum-transparent plastic.

Good lord! This bomb, for remote control aircraft, is possibly the most panic-inducing accessory we have seen. Ever.

The Quanum RTR Bomb System fixes onto the bottom of your RC plane or helicopter and is released using a spare channel on your receiver. The bomb itself is made of tough fiber reinforced nylon, and will split open on impact and spread its payload.