Hope you’ve got a screen protector…Sesame Street has a new iOS app, “Potty Time with Elmo,” that is aimed at kids and parents going through the potty-training process.

The app, from Sesame Workshop and Publications International, is based on the bestselling book of the same title. For kids, there’s “a story with Elmo about the rewards of learning to use the toilet,” songs, stickers and a virtual rewards chart. Parents can “track their child’s potty progress” and get potty-training tips.

“Potty Time with Elmo” is $0.99 for now and will increase to $2.99 after May 29.

Elmo faces competition from other potty-training apps, but none of them are hosted by the little furry red monster.

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When you write for a tech blog like SlashGear, it’s hard to be surprised at Apple rumors. But every once in a while the source can throw you for a loop. So it is with this one: Ben Reitzes, an analyst for Barclays Capital, claims that the company will updater its MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and iMac lines as soon as next month. He’s echoing things we’ve heard ourselves for weeks, including “Retina” displays and a new lower price point for the Air.

His predictions on hardware seem obvious enough: new Intel Ivy Bridge platforms for all the laptops and the iMac, and a new version of both OS X and iOS before the fall. On the iPad side of things, he claims that a smaller model would make sense for the fall, especially in the education market, where the high price of entry for tablets is keeping many away. Interestingly, textbooks seem central to this thesis, even though the meager offerings on iBooks haven’t improved significantly since it was introduced in January. Quote Reitzes, “We do not feel that a smaller, lower priced tablet will dilute the quality of the iPad brand and iOS ecosystem either, despite prior comments by the company.”

The analyst isn’t saying anything more than we’ve already heard (if fact a cynic might say he’s an avid reader of the tech blogs), but he says it with the authority of several billion dollars worth of guided investments. Apple has successfully navigated the passing of Steve Jobs and continues its incredibly profitable streak above the mobile market, while dominating tablets and making strides on the desktop. All of Apple’s non-mobile hardware is due for a refresh, and at least some of it will certainly come during WWDC in June.

[via Forbes]

Analyst predicts new Macbooks and iMacs in June, 7-inch iPad this fall is written by Michael Crider & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

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Certainly it’s no great shocker that Amazon’s got plans for a new e-reader and tablet later this year. Nor should anyone be particularly surprised at the prospect of a front-lit reader from the retail giant set to compete directly with the latest Nook offering. Reuters, however, claims to have some insight into both, courtesy of an anonymous source. Apparently the aforementioned reader is set for a July launch, arriving in the customary Wifi and 3G varieties. The tablet, meanwhile, is set for a release “closer to the holiday season,” according to the source. Amazon, E Ink and the like naturally refused to comment on the matter.

Report: Amazon planning front-lit Kindle e-reader for July, new tablet later this year originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 May 2012 15:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’ve ever baulked at the price of Leica’s rebadged Panasonic cameras, then spare a thought (or some change) for the anonymous buyer of this 1923 0-Series snapper. Vienna’s WestLicht Photographica auctions flogged the prototype for €2.16 million ($2.77 million) and is now the most expensive camera ever sold — beating this $1.9 million 0-Series from last year. If you’d like to see the surprisingly relaxed way the auctioneer handles the recession-baiting sale, head on past the break for the footage.

[Thanks, Rakesh]

Continue reading You think your Leica’s expensive? This one cost $2.8 million (video)

You think your Leica’s expensive? This one cost $2.8 million (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 May 2012 09:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While earnings calls are rarely the veritable dial-in party, sometimes they do toss up a juicy gambit or disappointing revelation. While NVIDIA was dishing out projections for Q1 2013, it pretty much quashed any hopes of seeing an in-house LTE Tegra chip in 2012. While we were assured that Tegra 3 LTE phones would come this year — based on those partnerships announced back in February — it was also stated that the thoroughbred Tegra LTE chip wouldn’t be a reality until 2013. So, this pretty much ties in with what we had heard, but this time, from the horse’s mouth.

NVIDIA confirms no ‘Project Grey’ until 2013, Tegra 3 LTE later this year originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 May 2012 15:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon will reportedly launch a new version of its Kindle eBook reader later this year that features a color display with a capacitive touch panel. Citing multiple unnamed sources within Amazon’s supply chain, Digitimes on Thursday reported that Amazon is currently beginning to place parts orders for the new Kindle, which will launch some time in the second half of 2012. The site also claims Amazon will likely make use of new color display panels from E Ink, and TPK Holding Company will supply the multi-touch panels. Digitimes reported in February that Amazon’s color eReader would launch as soon as March, however the company has yet to unveil any such product.

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View full post on BGR: The Three Biggest Letters In Tech

You know the drill — grab yourself a spoonful of Morton’s and get ready for another supposed leak of a gadget. This time around, you’re looking at what’s said to be one of Research In Motion’s BlackBerry 10 “Development Alpha” devices that are set to be handed out during next week’s BlackBerry Jam — just like the company promised a month ago. Images of the device first surfaced over at Crackberry’s forums and, as the site points out, the touchscreen candy bar seems to share its design DNA with the PlayBook. Keeping in mind that it’s likely to remain a testing device for devs, don’t bank on it ever hitting store shelves. That said, we’re now curious how pivotal a roll RIM’s famous tactile keyboards will play on its next-generation phones — if any. Head over to the sources links below if you’d like to catch more photos from Mr. Blurrycam and extra information in the meantime.

Is this RIM’s BlackBerry 10 development device? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Apr 2012 21:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Huawei, the world’s sixth largest mobile phone vendor, said on Wednesday that it expects to ship more than 100 million mobile phones in 2012, including 60 million smartphones, Reuters reported. The Chinese company sold a total of 55 million handsets, including 20 million smartphones, in 2011 and is now looking to increase its global market share with a focus on key markets. “We plan to target China, the United States, western Europe and Japan as key markets,” said Shao Yang, chief marketing officer of Huawei Device. The executive also said he expects consumer device sales to reach $30 billion in five years, up from $7 billion, becoming as large as its telecommunications equipment business. “This means that by that time, the revenue will be comparable to our telecom equipment business,” Shao said. “We feel the room for growth for devices is much bigger than the telecom carrier sector.”

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View full post on BGR: The Three Biggest Letters In Tech

‘X Files’ is the latest in our look back this week at iconic FOX shows on the network’s 25th anniversary.

Yesterday, we revisited ‘Ally McBeal’ and that weird dancing baby.

View full post on Fox 411 – Entertainment Blog

FOX turned 25 this year, so we’re looking back at the casts of some of their most popular and influential shows.

Like ‘Ally McBeal.’

View full post on Fox 411 – Entertainment Blog