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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has sealed separate agreements with Verizon and AT&T for a combined contract price of $970.5 million.

Under the Department’s agreement with Verizon, Internet protocol (IP), security services and emergency communications services will be provided by Verizon to the Department of Homeland Security. This would greatly help the Department’s response time in a disaster situation. The deal would enable Verizon to assist the 22 agencies of the Department to combine their IP network.

This deal would add up to the previously won 10-year, $20 billion contract won by Verizon which would provide a full range of telecommunications and related network services to the whole organization of the U.S. government.

Meanwhile, the deal with AT&T calls for the company serving as the secondary network service provider in the Eastern and Western region of the U.S. Their deal will cost the Department of Homeland Security around $292 million.

Read [Reuters]

LG Korea has officially announced the LG KF600 aka “Bikini” phone with touchscreen features. This new phone will come in either the HSDPA model (LG-SH640/KH6400) or the Revision A model (LH6400). Now, before we get really excited as to what this new phone has got in its arsenal, you may notice its resemblance to the previously released LG Venus, that’s because this new phone is just an upgraded version.

Basically, the LG KF600 pretty much carries the same features as the Venus. It has the InteractPad which replaces the physical navigation keys with context-specific virtual keys. Plus a 3-megapixel camera with video recording, MP3 player, FM radio and Bluetooth.

Currently there is no information on whether the LG KF600 will be released internationally, and possibly to replace the current LG Venus. The Bikini retails between $478-$574 in the Korean market.

Via [Aving USA]

CBS and CNET Network has sealed an acquisition agreement that could probably be the next biggest acquisition deal after the failed Microsoft-Yahoo deal. Although the price involved in this acquisition is not as big as the Microsoft-Yahoo deal, the fact is both CBS and CNET Network own some of the most popular internet properties and combining them would elevate CBS into the ranks of the 10 most popular Internet companies in the US.

For a purchase price of $11.50 per share, CBS hopes to acquire CNET Networks by the close of the third quarter this year. Luckily for them, the CNET Board has unanimously approved the proposed deal valued at $1.8 billion.

This deal would certainly be most favorable to CBS, since if you combined the unique visitors of its Internet properties with that of CNET Networks, the company would gain around 54 million unique users per month, with a total of around 200 million users worldwide. This is certainly not a bad deal at all for both companies.

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We’ve been seeing announcements on several e-book readers coming into the market lately. Either the Amazon Kindle has generated a lot of interest from consumers wanting something more, or consumers are really into reading e-books. Now here comes another e-book reader from a company called Astak - the Mentor. Astak is feeling generous as they decided to come up with not just one but three e-book models offering a choice of either a 5-inch, 6-inch or 9.7-inch display.

Astak says that the larger the size of the e-book reader, the more features it would have. True enough since the 9.7-inch would come with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, as well as a 1200 x 825 pixel resolution. The other features of the 9.7-inch model are also carried by the other two smaller models. These features include a 128MB of RAM, SD card slot, read up to 8000 pages per battery charge, e-inked screen and support for MP3 playback.

The 5-inch and 6-inch models are set to hit the streets sometime in June for an estimated retail price of less than $200. The 9.7-inch would come later in October at an estimated retail price of around $350.

Product [Astak] Via [Engadget]

Sharp has expanded its Professional LCD Monitors with the launch of the TL Professional LCD Monitor Line. LCD’s in this product line will have a full 1920 x 1080 2-megapixel high-definition resolution display. To kick off the launch the product line, Sharp has released the 52-inch TL-M5200 and the 46-inch TL-M4600.

Both of these LCD’s give out a high image quality, features and performance which are perfect for teleconferencing, CAD/Simulation, digital signage, corporate, educational, training, hospitality, sports arenas, entertainment and house-of worship. In addition these LCD’s are also easy to install with their lightweight cabinet design, and even come equipped with RJ-45 LAN Control for network connectivity. Other features of these two new LCD’s include Advanced Super View panel, 1500:1 (TL-M4600) and 2000:1 (TL-M5200) contrast ratios, advanced signal processing, an HDCP compatible HDMI input, and a built-in web browser.

The Sharp TL-M4600 and TL-M5200 LCD’s retail for $4,995 and $3,995 at all Sharp retail outlets.

Via [Akihabara News]

Microsoft is touting two new LifeCam models which are uniquely designed to have a bendable attachment base. These new webcams which mold to any surface are the LifeCam VX-5000 and VX-500. In addition, Microsoft is also releasing the LifeChat LX-2000, a full-size headset which is bendable as well.

Both of these LifeCams are affordable, easy to use and come with individual features. The LifeCam VX-5000 which comes a colored ring around its front, which you can choose to have in either Cool Blue, Lucky Green or Fire Red. This LifeCam is equipped with Windows Live optimization as well as the latest version of the LifeCam software. Its features include; Windows LiveCall Button, LifeCam dashboard, advanced VGA optics with VGA sensor at 640 x 480 resolution, built-in unidirectional microphone, 3x digital zoom and pan and tilt features.

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Creative has released its new Vado pocket video camera with a promise of improving on the current market of ultra-simple, thin and light video recorders. Weighing just 2.96-ounces and measuring 3.94 x 2.16 x 0.63-inches, you wouldn’t think that this video camera could give out good 640x480 quality video as well as pack in 2GB of built-in flash memory. And since it supports MPEG-4 video format, Creative has even thrown in a built-in video editing software which you can use to streamline your captured video before uploading them to YouTube, Photobucket and other video sharing sites.

Other features of this small and yet decently powerful video camera include; extremely high sensitivity to low light environment at 3.8V/lux-sec, 2-inch diagonal LCD display, 2x digital zoom, MPEG-4 AVI video format recording at 30fps and a built-in USB flexi connector which also serves as a charger. The Vado Pocket Video Cam offers support for Macs running OS X 10.4.11 or later and most modern PCs. The Vado Pocket Video Cam will be hitting the streets with a retail price of $100, and be available in pink or silver.

Product [Creative] Via [Electronista]

Canon has added two new compact photo printers to its Selphy product line - the CP770 and CP760. Touting a fresh and unique design, both printers aim to give users an easier time when printing their precious photos even without using a computer.

Although both printers sport a small design, both are nonetheless rich in individual features. The CP770 is an ultra compact photo printer that answers your need for printing photos as quickly and as easy as possible, whether you’re at home or on the move. Touting an unusual new design, the CP770 comes with a basket-like storage bucket which can also accommodate several printer accessories such as paper, ink cartridge and power cord. The CP770 is also equipped with a 2.5-inch high definition LCD monitor. Retailing for $79.99, the CP770 will be available in apricot and crisp white color.

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All due respect to RIM for coming up with a sleek and full-featured smartphone such as the BlackBerry Bold, but we couldn’t help feel shortchanged just a little as it doesn’t match up with the iPhone’s look and feel. So, it is but only natural to get excited over the latest rumor circulating around the BlackBerry name, the Thunder.

Yes dear readers, the group over at BGR are claiming that the latest smartphone from RIM has been codenamed the BlackBerry Thunder. And yes, this time, we just might be staring at the real iPhone killer. With its full touchscreen display and only four keys visible upfront - send/end keys, the BlackBerry menu key and the back key, the Thunder may well the next generation of what we can expect from RIM. Rumor has it that the BlackBerry Thunder will also be a worldwide lifetime exclusive on Verizon and Vodafone, so current AT&T subscribers still have plenty of time to think about shifting carriers before the Thunder arrives.

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Opera has announced version 4.1 of the Opera Mini mobile web browser. Yes folks, Opera Mini is still alive and I assume more mobile phone users will be using it as its a simple, hassle-free, no-strings-attached mobile web browser that works with a wide variety of phones. I’m still using Opera Mini with my trusty old Sony Ericsson P990i, so I’m definitely excited about the update to version 4.1.

So, what’s in store for all of us with this latest version, Opera says - faster features. Opera Mini 4.1 receives request for web pages 50% faster than the old version, faster searching within a web page, faster web site upload and faster file uploading and downloading. In addition, when typing web addresses, Opera Mini 4.1 now suggests completions based on bookmarked sites and browsing history. 

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