Ross Rubin

Competitors in the fast-moving tablet-computer category are lining up to take on Apple's iPad. Hewlett-Packard is the latest to preview its upcoming slate product, and other companies like Lenovo, Sony, Dell and Acer are similarly positioning their products.

The HP tablet runs Windows 7, and was first previewed by Microsoft at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. HP published some details on its company blog last month and updated the information with a posting Monday that includes two promotional videos. The videos show a tablet device running Flash and responding to hand gestures.

Score one for Hollywood. RealNetworks agreed this week to settle lawsuits with major movie and TV studios for its RealDVD product, which allows users to copy DVDs onto hard drives.

As part of the settlement, RealNetworks will pay the studios $4.5 million to cover legal costs. In its announcement, RealNetworks said all parties have agreed to the "terms of a permanent injunction that will prohibit RealNetworks from distributing or supporting RealDVD or any other technology that enables the duplication of copyrighted content protected by the Content Scramble System, ArccOS or RipGuard."

Score one for Hollywood. RealNetworks agreed this week to settle lawsuits with major movie and TV studios for its RealDVD product, which allows users to copy DVDs onto hard drives.

As part of the settlement, RealNetworks will pay the studios $4.5 million to cover legal costs. In its announcement, RealNetworks said all parties have agree to the "terms of a permanent injunction that will prohibit RealNetworks from distributing or supporting RealDVD or any other technology that enables the duplication of copyrighted content protected by the Content Scramble System, ArccOS or RipGuard."

Network-attached storage, or NAS, may be one of the best-kept secrets in personal technology.

"It is one of the fastest-growing categories of data storage, but most consumers still haven't heard of NAS," said Seema Lindskog, director of product marketing at Western Digital, a hard-drive manufacturer that also sells NAS products. "Most people are still using external hard drives for backup."

Given the craze surrounding the iPhone, Motorola Droid, Palm Pre and Nexus One, it may seem that nearly everyone has a smartphone.

But most consumers in the United States use simpler, much lower-cost phones.

According to data from the Nielsen Co., about 82 percent of cell phones in use in the United States are limited-function phones, the kind that typically sell for less than $50 or are given away with two-year service contracts.

Given the craze surrounding the iPhone, Motorola Droid, Palm Pre and Nexus One, it may seem that nearly everyone has a smartphone.

But most consumers in the United States use simpler, much lower-cost phones.

According to data from the Nielsen Co., about 82 percent of cell phones in use in the United States are limited-function phones, the kind that typically sell for less than $50 or are given away with two-year service contracts.

Though it's only been available for a few weeks, Verizon Wireless already has released an update package for the Motorola Droid, an Android-based smartphone. A Verizon spokesperson said the update started Monday and will continue for about a week.

Verizon's web site says the update offers 14 improvements or corrections, including stabilization of the operating system, three-way calling enhancements, improved camera autofocus, longer battery life, and better audio.

Tinkering Needed

The introduction of the FlipShare TV by Cisco Systems shows the networking giant's strategic foray into the consumer space is moving ahead in a systematic fashion. The FlipShare is a companion piece to Flip Video camcorders, which were introduced by Pure Video in 2007 and came to Cisco in the acquisition of Pure in May.

On Friday, Cloud Engines released its newest version of the Pogoplug, a small "multimedia sharing device" that connects hard drives to the Internet and allows a user to access the files remotely. The company described Pogoplug as "your own personal cloud that broadcasts safely from your home."

You connect Pogoplug to your router by Ethernet, attach hard drives or USB flash drives, and then access files by logging in from anywhere through a browser. You can also securely give access to others for downloading or uploading, the company said.

Drives Can Appear Local

Comcast's new TV Everywhere is launching next month. That's the word from Comcast Interactive Media President Amy Banse, who described some of the details of the anticipated service in an interview this week at the NewTeeVee Live 09 event in San Francisco.

The new service, now in a trial phase in 5,000 homes, will allow Comcast subscribers to watch favorite shows over the web with no additional charges.

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