iPhone Cruncher

The Motorola DROID X was one of the most powerful handsets to hit Verizon Wireless. It’s only fitting that the big boss of Android phones would get upgraded at some point, right? The Motorola DROID X2 ups the DROID X in almost every way possible. Instead of a single core 1GHz CPU, the DROID X2 features a dual-core 1GHz processor. The display has been upgraded from a baseline screen to a qHD display, and software customizations and enhancements have been made as well. Did one of my favorite Android handsets get even better? Hit the full review after the break to find out.

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Ah, we see you again, BlackBerry Curve (Apollo). We’ve just scored some more hands-on time with RIM’s upcoming next-generation Curve, now named the BlackBerry Curve 9360. That’s what we’re being told is the final model number for this handset, though knowing RIM, there are sure to be some variations on that. This unit feels like a production unit to us, and with a final model number, it can’t be too long before they start infiltrating your local carrier’s store shelves. In the mean time, check out our hands-on gallery below!

P.S. We’ve heard that RIM won’t be using NFC for mobile payments for a “little while.” Instead, RIM will focus its initial NFC efforts on things like contact sharing and adding users to your BlackBerry Messenger list, etc.

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Intel unveiled its version of a super-thin, tablet-like laptop computer called the Ultrabook today at the Computex technology trade show, which could pose a challenge to Apple‘s blockbuster iPad.

Intel
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Ultrabooks will be less than an inch thick, Intel said, with mainstream price points under $1,000, helped by the development of its 2nd Generation Core processor, which will enable the thin, light designs.

Asus will begin selling an Ultrabook based on the chips in the 2011 holiday shopping season.

Intel also discussed updates to its Intel Core processor as well as its Intel Atom processor, which was featured in more than 10 tablets it showcased. The company touched on its next-generation netbook platform, named Cedar Trail, which will support leading operating systems such as Microsoft
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Want an Apple iPad but can’t afford the minimum $499 entry fee? Look to Barnes Noble’s Nook Color, which was upgraded recently to offer many tablet features at $249.

The Nook Color, which until May had been marketed primarily as an electronic book reader with extra features, now is being marketed as a tablet specifically made for book lovers.

With the software upgrade introduced just over a month ago, the Nook Color now offers decent Web browsing, email, games, music and video playback. Oh, and it’s an e-reader, too.

When looked at as a tablet rather than an e-reader, it turns out the Nook Color is the iPad’s biggest competitor, capturing half the non-iPad tablet market with some 3 million units shipped, compared with iPad’s 20 million for the last year.

By comparison, the overpriced Motorola Xoom, which captured a lot of press a few months ago as the first serious competitor to the iPad, is a flop: only something more than 100,000 units are estimated to have shipped since its introduction.

The Nook Color is no iPad 2. It has a 7-inch display, to the iPad’s 10-inch. Its processor is far less powerful, it has less onboard memory and no cameras, no GPS, no 3G data connectivity and less battery life. The recently opened BN app store offers fewer than 200 apps, compared with some 5,500 apps for the iPad.

But as a wi-fi tablet running Google’s Android 2.2 Froyo operating system, the Nook Color doesn’t suck. It surpasses the iPad in some areas. It can run Flash applets that give the Web so much of its interactivity, for instance, including streaming Web video; Apple has chosen not to support Flash.

It has a slot capable of holding a 32-gigabyte SD Card, greatly supplementing its 8-gig internal memory. The iPad doesn’t have one. As for its display, the smaller 7-inch form is seen by some as a portability advantage

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Stacked is for the control freak in all of us.

Priced a notch below the gaggle of gastro-pubs that have opened in recent months, but with a foodie bent that surpasses your average fast-food joint, Stacked opens today in the lifestyle wing of Torrance’s Del Amo Fashion Center.

Created by the team behind BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse, Stacked offers a customized menu of burgers, pizzas, salads and sausages that customers order using iPads sitting on every table.

“It’s not about the iPad, it’s about the experience it facilitates,” said co-founder Paul Motenko. “We wanted to do something very simple and very focused … but with tremendous choice within that narrow focus.”

And, indeed, customers will find themselves spoiled for choice as they drag and drop a dizzying number of combinations and visually build their meal.

Want a burger?

There are six types of buns, including whole wheat and gluten-free.

There are seven types of patties including salmon, veggie, pulled pork and Angus beef.

Customers can choose among three types of lettuce, seven cheeses, 17 toppings, a dozen sauces and nine condiments including peanut butter.

And there’s also the vast number of toppings available for pizzas, salads, the eight different sausages or the half-dozen kinds of fries and chips.

Those

paralyzed with options can order off the menu, which includes a Mac `n’ Cheese pizza and cookie/ice cream desserts.

In terms of drinks, Stacked offers 17 wines, two dozen sodas and teas and a panoply of 20 beers that include such craft brews as Stone Levitation Ale and Mad River Steelhead IPA.

“You can have the order in the kitchen within 10 seconds,” Motenko said. “But it’s not about speed, it’s control.

“It can be a quick experience, it can be a leisurely experience – it’s up to you to control it,” he added. “If you really do this well, you can be out of here in 20 minutes – but you can take as long you want.”

Not surprisingly, Motenko is a self-described

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–Intel’s ultra-thin laptop is a bid to outshine Apple’s iPad

–Intel is expected to use its manufacturing edge for more power-efficient chips

–ARM concedes Intel will likely eventually catch up on mobile devices

Intel Corp.’s (INTC) plan for a new ultra-thin, power-efficient laptop is the chip giant’s bid to outshine Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) iPad and tablets based on ARM Holdings PLC’s (ARMH, ARM.LN) technology, analysts say.

Intel disclosed details for the product, dubbed ultrabook, at the Computex exhibition. It said the new device would combine the power of laptops with the features of tablets. The ultrabook is expected to be …

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Joining the roster of newspapers available in the App Store is the San Francisco Chronicle, which has released an iPad version of its publication as a free download. Like other recent publications that have joined the App Store, current subscribers get full access to content via the app, and new users can subscribe from right inside the app.

San Francisco Chronicle for iPad Complete Coverage »

Pricing

Best current price: $0.00

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  Daily Telegraph launches subscription-based iPad app
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  Fahrenheit for iPhone and iPad
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  News Corp. launches The Daily news magazine for iPad

The Chronicle’s app blends old school and new technology, bringing articles and sections from the newspaper along with blogs from SFGate.com. And because we’re talking about an app, not a dead-tree publication, it gives the Chronicle the ability to deliver features like photo galleries—including 360-degree panoramic pictures—and up-to-date traffic and weather information that you can customize to your liking. The app also implements a carousel navigation system that’s reminiscent of The Daily, although it seems to be better implemented.

While the app gets updated throughout the day with breaking news on the global, national, and city scales, you’ll also be able to get access to an archive of the past seven days worth of content, so if you missed something from the previous day or the last Sunday paper, you can go back and pick it up. You can also set up the app to download content for offline viewing. However, it’s worth noting that certain parts of the paper—the crossword puzzle, for example—are not available in the iPad app.

You can try out the Chronicle’s

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