In the tablet world, Apple’s iPad is pretty much the undisputed market leader. However, that doesn’t stop others from trying to enter the space with tablets of their own.

The next competetor looking to enter the ring is Google, which will reportedly unveal a new Asus-built Nexus tablet at next month’s Google I/O event in San Francisco. The tablet is reported to feature a 7″ screen, be running NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 chip and sell for $199.00 directly from Google’s Play Store.

In addition, the tablet is reported to be running Google’s new Jelly Bean OS instead of Ice Cream Sandwich. No word yet on if it will have anything other than Wifi but we can most likely expect some sort of wireless carrier partnerships will be offered, much like Apple does with AT&T and Verizon.

Whatever happens, with this new tablet announcement expected as well as announcements about new multi-vendor Nexus smartphones, Google’s I/O conference is shaping up to be quite the event. Of course, we’ll keep you updated with news as we get it.

These new TV spots don’t really give us much more information than we already have. Still, it’s nice to see the PR machine is cranking up to full power in anticipation of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises.

Of course, if you’re like us, you don’t really need a reason to see this movie and will probably be there at midnight when it opens. That doesn’t mean it isn’t fun to see these new TV spots.

Although, and maybe I’m in the minority here, I’m still not sold on Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. Sorry folks, she just seems like the weakest link here and I can’t shake that feeling no matter how much I try. Let’s hope she doesn’t ruin the experience.

The Dark Knight Rises hits theatrs on July 20. Click through for the videos.

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If you’re an Android user who also enjoys using the Google+ social media service, you may have been a bit miffed to see the iOS version of the G+ app get a big update a few weeks ago. Well don’t worry, your time has come.

That’s right, Google today took the wraps off a big update for the Android version of the Google+ app and with it has come several improvements to the UI including the big thing you may love or hate: giant pictures. The new app also makes starting a hangout with your pals possible from a mobiel device.

In addition, there’s also a new navigation ribbon on the left side, much like the desktop version, that features quick shortcuts to all the areas of Google+ you might need to go to. You also get some new transitions as you scroll through feeds, the ability to download pics as wallpaper, the ability to edit posts inline and more.

The new app is available through the Google Play store. So, what do we think?

We don’t often post videos from Saturday Night Live, but this one is pretty great. So sit back, relax and enjoy Lazy Sunday 2 — on a Sunday — in all its glory.

The CW has aded its shows to the mix today and has announced its full Fall schedule of programming. For the new season, the network is adding 5 new drama series which, in addition to its returning shows, will be “strategically” rolled out starting in early October.

The new shows, Arrow, Beauty And The Beast and Emily Owens, MD, will debut in the fall. The remaining dramas, Cult and The Carrie Diaries, will arrive midseason. In addition to its new shows, the network is also making some changes to its existing ones.

Supernatural is moving to Wednesday and will air following the new drama Arrow. America’s Next Top Model is moving to Friday to give Nikita a new lead-in. The rest of the changes can be found in the new schedule.

Click through for the full CW schedule, some videos and descriptions of the new series.

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In yet another display of near complete disregard for its customers, Verizon Wireless announced this week it plans to eliminate the $30/Month unlimited data plan any user subscribed to prior to the company’s transition to tiered data plans last July. Verizon CFO Fran Shammo said at the 40th J.P. Morgan Technology, Media and Telecom conference that once unlimited 3G data plan customers upgrade to 4G LTE, they will be forced to purchase the company’s shared data plan.

“Everyone will be on data share,” Shammo said. The carrier’s shared data plans are scheduled to launch in the coming months, and will allow users to share a single pool of data between multiple devices. “If I can add as many devices as I want, that is more efficient from a family perspective and a small business perspective,” the CFO said.

When asked how Verizon will migrate customers off their unlimited data plans, Shammo said that LTE will draw customers away from it. “A lot of our 3G base is on unlimited,” he said. “When they migrate off 3G they will have to go to data share. That is beneficial to us.”

Sure, beneficial to you, but how does that benefit customers again? Oh yeah, it doesn’t. It just means people should get ready to pay ever increasing costs for mobile data.

How do we feel about this?

According to the Wall Street Journal, Google is going to give multiple smartphone and tablet manufacturers early access to the latest builds of Android to build devices and then sell those directly to consumers through the Play Store. Google will supposedly have these devices ready in time for the launch of the next version of Android, code named Jelly Bean, which is ser to bow in November.

In the past Google has selected one company to make its “Nexus” devices. Most recently, that company was Samsung. Recently, Google began to sell the Galaxy Nexus directly through its Play Store and had a page of the store dedicated to devices plural. This, of course, begged the question as to what other devices were going to be sold there. Perhaps this new development answers that question.

According to the Journal’s source, this new plan would give Google “more control over the apps that run on smartphones and tablets powered by Android, thus reducing the influence of wireless carriers over such devices.” Gotta say, that sounds pretty good as I think carriers have way too much influence as it is.

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It’s that time of year when thoughts turn to network schedules. This time around it’s ABC, which released its full Fall 2012 schedule this week.

The network is taking no prisoners this year and boldly launching 10 new series including 666 Park Avenue, The Family Tools, How To Live With Your Parents (For The Rest Of Your Life), Last Resort, Malibu Country, Mistresses, Nashville, The Neighbors, Red Widow and Zero Hour. Five of the new series will bow in the fall, the rest in midseason.

Hey, we’re just happy Castle and Happy Endings are coming back. As for the new shows, we will have to wait and see. No point getting invested now, especially these days when networks kill shows after only a few episodes.

Full schedule followed by descriptions of the shows follows (thanks to the folks at Deadline for putting this together:

MONDAY

8 PM “Dancing with the Stars”

10 PM “Castle”

In January

8 PM “The Bachelor”

10 PM “Castle”

TUESDAY

8 PM “Dancing with the Stars the Results Show”

9 PM “Happy Endings”

9:30 PM “Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23”

10 PM “Private Practice”

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Perhaps this is a good thing and will lead to those much-desired turn by turn directions on the iPhone that users have wanted? Let’s hope so.

What am I talking about? Well, it seems Apple has decided to get rid of Google Maps in iOS 6 and going for an in house solution instead. According to the folks at 9to5Mac, the mapping solution will be in-place for the next major version of the mobile operating system, combining technologies from the acquisition of Placebase, C3 Technologies and Poly9.

According to reports, the new maps app will feature a state of the art 3D mode with graphics provided by C3. The look and features of said 3D maps will supposedly “blow your head off”, at least according to the report.

As someone who’s used both iOS and Android, it’s very clear which has the superior maps application with far more features including turn by turn. With Apple and Google moving farther apart it makes sense that Apple would want to go out on its own this way.

Competition is good and let’s hope that leads to a better maps experience in iOS 6. We expect this to be revealed in much more detail during Apple’s upcoming Worldwide Dev Conference next month.

If there’s one thing Marvel has proven over the last several years it’s that Iron Man is as popular as ever. With the character’s succes in movies come a renewed level of interest in his comic book exploits as well.

Fortunately, Marvel isn’t resting on its laurels and keeps turing out great stories for its major characters, Iron Man included. Now, with things heating up in the Marvel U and Tony Stark having problems, a new Iron Man is coming to take matters into his (or her) own hands.

That’s the story in Marvel’s upcoming Invincible Iron Man #518. The story, from writer Matt Fraction and artist Salvador Larroca, concerns “the Spymaster’s rampage within Stark Resilient and that incident’s bloody end. The Mandarin is throwing everything he’s got at Tony Stark including amped up super villains. With a big target painted on his back, can Tony Stark make it out alive? Can the new Iron Man save him in time?”

I guess we’ll see when Invincible Iron Man #518 hits comic shops, the Marvel Comics app, and Marvel Digital Comic Shop on June 6. In the meantime, check out some previews for the comic after the break.

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Good news fans of quirky and eccentric sitcoms, both Community and 30 Rock will be back next season. NBC announced late yesterday that both shows will be coming back with 30 Rock getting a final seventy season of 13 episodes and Community going to a fourth season of 13 episodes as well.

It’s nice to see NBC allowing 30 Rock to wrap things up and it’s also nice that the network is giving Community a chance to stay on the air, even if the ratings don’t necessarily support it. Although, when the comedy returned from an extended hiatus the ratings had improved quite a bit making it one of NBC’s highest rated comedies.

With a renewal now secure, the next question, about Community at least, is if both creator/showrunner Dan Harmon and co-star Chevy Chase are going to return. In case you haven’t been following the story, they’ve reportedly had quite a feud going on with Chase apparently storming off the set and Harmon berating the actor at the show’s wrap party.

According to reports, both Chase and Harmon have reputations for being “difficult,” which in Hollywood-speak pretty much means they are dicks. However, its difficult to imagine Community without Harmon or Chase as each make a significant contribution to the show. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Enjoy a game where your objective is to eliminate as many people as possible but do it in stealthy and mysterious ways? We do too.

Of course, the king of games that fits that mold is the Assassin’s Creed line from Ubisoft. Assassin’s Creed III is on its way and to help get you ready, Ubisoft has released a trailer for the game that gives us, among other things, a look at the gamplay.

In case you’re not familiar with the game, it takes place during the American Revolution and features a new protagonist named Connor Kenway. It will also, according to Ubisoft, be bigger than any of its previous installments.

The game is set to come out for PS 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, Mac OS X and Windows. Look for it to arrive on October 30th.

In the meantime, check the trailer after the break.

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