music player

Nokia announced two new slider 3G phones Tuesday -- the 6700 Slide and the 7230. The Finland-based company described the new models as "made for the design-conscious consumer and optimized for socializing and sharing." The devices are among a series of steps Nokia is taking to recover from a downturn.

The growing lineup of Android-powered devices has a new entry arriving Oct. 19. That's the date the Motorola CLIQ will be available to current customers, T-Mobile announced Tuesday. Others will be able to buy Motorola's first device for the Android open-source operating system on Nov. 2. The price is $199.99 with a two-year contract.

Automatic Syncing

Motorola took the cover off its first Android-powered device on Thursday. The CLIQ will be available through T-Mobile USA in the fourth quarter. But analysts said the CLIQ alone can't rescue Motorola from its recent woes.

The CLIQ will run on MOTOBLUR, Motorola's rendition of the Android operating system. MOTOBLUR manages and integrates e-mail, social networking, and other communications on the handset and delivers them to the home screen in a stream organized by contact.

Paul and Ringo weren't on hand at Apple's music event Wednesday, but Apple CEO Steve Jobs was there to introduce a new lineup of iPods. Apple rolled out the world's smallest music player -- and the first music player to talk to you -- the new iPod shuffle, priced at $59 with 2GB of storage. Consumers can also opt for a 4GB shuffle for $79.

At the other end of the spectrum, Apple launched the new iPod nano, complete with a video camera, microphone and speaker. That means music fans can shoot video, view it on their nano, and upload it to YouTube.

Apple Inc. has shut down one of the most compelling features on Palm Inc.'s rival Pre smart phone, crippling the Pre's ability to act like an iPod.

Users of the recently released Pre had been able to put music on it by using Apple's free iTunes software -- a unique twist for a device not made by Apple. But Apple updated iTunes on Wednesday to block this feature.

Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr said the update "disables devices falsely pretending to be iPods, including the Palm Pre."

Dell engineers are developing a pocket-sized, Internet-connected device that will use the Google-backed Android mobile operating system, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper, citing "people familiar with the company's plans," said two people who have seen prototypes described the new product as similar to the iPhone but without cell-phone functionalities. Dell is expected to release the device later this near, the paper reported, although there is also a possibility the product might not be released.

'Entirely, Absolutely' Plausible