I love my Blackberry, and tried to grab a Touchpad for £100 (had a Pre 2 at the time), but I think £250 is too high for what is essentially just a toy. I'd probably splash £150 on one. But until someone can show me a genuine use for these devices, I'll never buy one at netbook prices.

Haha I'm pretty sure the current that thing draws maintaining a microwave receiver will dwarf the standby mode of modern devices. The only think I think this would be useful for is amplifiers which keep their transformers charged.

Fn key

Mate I use my function key all the time - for changing brightness, hibernating and activating the light. I'd be seriously pissed if they added loads of unnecessary keys for this stuff. I'd be surprised if everyone hates function keys as much as you.

Top tip for all us ThinkPad users on the ctrl key - rebind caps lock as control (http://johnhaller.com/jh/useful_stuff/disable_caps_lock/). It makes so much sense in every way, also it removes the risk of accidentally hitting caps lock all the time!

Alternatively get ctrl by crooking your thumb.

No video link?

You say the ad is terrible but I would have liked to be able to work that out for myself.

Amazing

Out of all of my mates, dozens of them own Xbox 360s yet I'm only one of two people that has a PS3. I'm so surprised that the PS3 does so well, even outside of Japan, considering the 360's near total dominance amongst my circle of friends. What about other parts in the UK - has had a different experience?

So it's just pearlescent?

Yawn. Why have they used nanotechnology to achieve what car manufacturers have been doing for years? I mean, if some bearded men in a shed in Blackpool could do this in a decade ago, you have to wonder why they're bigging this up.

Production values

That was, without a shadow of a doubt, the most well-produced NASA video I've ever seen. Also I think more informative than usual.

Too far?

I've seen some pretty big backlash over promoted trends so far, but trends and suggested accounts are only small parts of Twitter. To pollute people's timelines seems a step too far, especially this early. What would you say if Adwords started appearing in between search results?

Disasterous

I'm pretty sure the reason why all four of us bought a Pre was because of the physical keyboard. Bottom line is if you can do without one, buy an iPhone. They are just better.

This does not bode well for the future of Palm.

I don't even nearly need it

But I wanna be the first to have it

I don't mind

Any dirty tricks Microsoft wants to get more installations of IE6 off the streets are fine by me. As a web developer, I don't care if they want to blow up a busload of kittens as long as they convince people and companies to just get rid of it.

Oh my god!

Those tariffs are literally an order of magnitude worse than my deal with Orange.

What about us?

I can't believe the yanks get a new slim-Pre before we even get the first one. I'm quite upset with Palm over how they're ignoring their massive GSM market over this.

Diesel-electric

Diesel-electric has got to be the way to go for these hybrid powertrains, I'm surprised it's taking so long to reach the market. I also really like the idea of generating extra power while cruising to be used for a boost when accelerating. What would you call that - power-shifting?

I think the real shame is that all these hot "futuristic" powerplants come is such awful futuristic designs.

Works for me

TBP is back to freetard paradise on my virgin+local dns connection.

Granny driving

I've had faster shits than that

Retailer woe

I feel sorry for the retailers who have Checkout as their only payment provider here. Bam - a big chunk of their UK market has just gone down the toilet. There must be scores of people - myself included - who own only a Maestro card.

@Frank Bough

"What does the 'thopter design offer over a rotary wing alternative?"

Bags of win.

@John H Woods

I also have an o2 dongle and it's a pile of turd. 3G coverage aside, the backend IP network is slow and badly interferes with crossing traffic.

Great

Looks like I'll be getting my upgrade and selling it on Ebay to purchase a Pre now. Why can't the EU do something useful and put a stop to this exclusivity racket instead of removing web browsers from computers.

Peugeot electrics

Great idea. Because Peugeot electrics are so famous for their reliability.

Great idea

Build self-aware robots. Attach guns - lots of guns. What could possibly go wrong?

@Defence is simple

Yeah lemme know how that works out for you.

@Ken Ryan, supersonic rotors

"This could find broad application commercially in several respects - reduction of noise in helicopters (rotor tips are usually supersonic), the windmills noted above, turbine blades, and so on."

I believe this to be false - the major limiting factor in helicopter top speed is that as the speed of the copter + the speed of the leading rotor blade crosses the sound barrier, there is a catastrophic loss in lift generated. Couple this with retreating blade stall and you have a bird in trouble.

The characteristic "chop chop" sound of a helicopter is created by interacting tip vortices between the main rotor and tail rotor. This is why fancy NOTAR helicopters are used in cities, as they are quieter (and safer, with no tail rotor to worry about striking buildings).

Think I just creamed myself

Never thought I'd see another decent Palm phone. Finally something to replace my ageing Treo 680? Fkin hope so.

Any word on a 3.5mm audio jack?

So what do we use this for?

I'm struggling to think of how this might fill a need. Any ideas people?

Paris, because at least she knows there's no point without putting on a big display.