DELL XPS 14z: Thin and fully loaded

DELL has expanded its thin-and-powerful family of laptops with the XPS 14z.

Aimed at demanding mobile professionals, this performance model with its latchless design is less than an inch thick and features an anodised-aluminium finish.

It has a unique design that maximises screen size by delivering a 14in edge-to-edge widescreen in a 13in form factor. The stylish notebook also houses a backlit, spill-resistant Chiclet keyboard and a magnesium alloy palmrest in dark gray.

Weighing in at 1.98 kg, the XPS 14z can be configured to include a second-generation Intel Core i5 or Core i7 processor, a slot loading DVD drive, an nVidia GeForce GT 520M 1GB and up to 750GB in storage space.

Touting more than six hours of battery life, it also features a built-in 1.3-megapixel webcam with dual array of microphones and stereo speakers.

As part of the XPS range, the model comes with the Dell Stage user interface, which offers one-click access to your favourite content along with SyncUP which is powered by Nero. The program keeps content and personal information synched with other Stage-enabled Dell PCs and mobile devices within a home WiFi network.

BlackBerry maker fires two for inflight fracas

TORONTO: Two employees of Research In Motion (RIM), whose rowdy behaviour caused Air Canada to divert a China-bound flight, have been fired.

George Campbell and Paul Wilson were removed from the Toronto-to-Beijing flight by police last week after the flight made an unscheduled stop in Vancouver.

The men later pleaded guilty to one count of mischief, received suspended sentences and were ordered to pay C$71,757 in compensation to Air Canada, police said.

"RIM expects that its employees conduct themselves in a manner reflective of our strong principles and standards of business behavior," the company said on Monday.

"RIM does not condone behaviour that conflicts with applicable laws and employees are expected to act, at all times, with integrity and respect. The individuals involved in this incident are no longer employed by RIM."

RIM did not say what positions the two men held at the company.

10 Billion Android Market downloads and counting

One billion is a pretty big number by any measurement. However, when it’s describing the speed at which something is growing, it’s simply amazing. This past weekend, thanks to Android users around the world, Android Market exceeded 10 billion app downloads—with a growth rate of one billion app downloads per month. We can’t wait to see where this accelerating growth takes us in 2012.

To celebrate this milestone, we partnered with some of the Android developers who contributed to this milestone to make a bunch of great Android apps available at an amazing price. Starting today for the next 10 days, we’ll have a new set of awesome apps available each day for only 10 cents each. Today, we are starting with Asphalt 6 HD, Color & Draw for Kids, Endomondo Sports Tracker Pro, Fieldrunners HD, Great Little War Game, Minecraft, Paper Camera, Sketchbook Mobile, Soundhound Infinity and SwiftKey X.

Are you looking for a hip and trendy Android smartphone?

Samsung has added two new stylish models to its Galaxy family, the Y and W.

The Galaxy Y is a compact and slim smartphone that's just 11.5mm thin and its back cover comes in five colours - white, black, orange, pink and silver.

It has a 3in QVGA screen and runs on a 832MHz processor. On the back is has a 2-megapixel camera that takes pictures and videos.

The Galaxy Y even has its own multi-platform chat application called Ch@tON for keeping in touch with friends.

Leica Review: A new D-Lux 5

LEICA has updated its premium compact camera, the D-Lux 5, with a new special limited edition model, the D-Lux 5 Titanium.

The D-Lux 5 Titanium is not really made of solid titanium but is instead titanium anodised to give the camera a more elegant-looking finish.