Pricing is yet to announced but the iPad 2 will be available in Australia on March 25. Meanwhile, the US receives it on March 11 with its pricing the same as the existing model.

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Thankfully, there are ways to save the contents of your email account online and on your desktop, and we show you three of them in the video above. While the focus is on Gmail specifically this time around, the principles are the same for any webmail service that supports POP forwarding, as most of them do.

If you have a favourite technique we didn't highlight in this video, feel free to share it in the comments below. In the meantime, here are some useful links to get started.

Via Download.com

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"Flexible" isn't something you think you needed in a mobile phone screen, but CES is all about concepts and future applications in addition to big-name product releases.

That's why we were excited to see prototypes of two Samsung displays. One is a malleable screen you can actually bend in a wave or arc. The 4.5-inch screen has an impressive WVGA (800x480-pixel) resolution that you can curve. It's also paper-thin, less than 0.3mm thick.

We may have been a bit drastic with our photo shoot (see image above), but there is a case for curved screens on devices. Samsung is claiming that this iteration of the flexible AMOLED screen has a resolution four times clearer than its previous bendable model. It can withstand up to 400-450 degrees during manufacturing, 50-100 degrees past previous screens' typical melting point.

We also checked out a transparent qFHD (quad full high-definition) AMOLED display that Samsung is working on for TVs and monitors. According to Samsung, this 19-incher boasts up to 30 per cent transparency even when switched off, compared to 10 per cent in most models.

During its demo, Samsung set up its display like a diorama, projecting the moving image onto the box's transparent face while leaving a static background. Check it out in our from-the-floor video below.

• Samsung Galaxy S
• Samsung Omnia Pro
• Samsung NX100
• Samsung Galaxy Tab

(Credit: Google)

If you don't currently use it, you can activate and try Priority Inbox in the Gmail.com Settings from your desktop or mobile browser.

This version of the Gmail app provides some management options, including marking messages important or unimportant - a Menu option lets you toggle between the two. In addition, you can re-jig Gmail's settings to notify you when an "important" message comes in. Google acknowledges that this is a start, but not comparable to the desktop experience. Accordingly, we expect to see more enhancements in the not-too-distant future.

In addition to enhanced email support, the updated Gmail app also sees a change to replies. Instead of relying on a series of back buttons to differentiate between replying to one sender or all of them, you can now make use of a drop-down menu at the top of the email to settle replies and forwards. Even better, you can now add in-line comments in a response.

In addition, Google is offering a small but useful feature that lets recent Gmail converts from other web mail clients compose messages using the Hotmail, Yahoo, AOL or other addresses.

Via CNET

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(Credit: CBS Interactive)

Nevertheless, version 2.3 of the operating system that's taking the mobile world by storm is a significant next step in Android's evolution.

While there are plenty of user-interface changes (we'll get to those), some of the back-end changes are most impactful to the Gingerbread recipe, especially those that will boost mobile gaming and make two-way video chatting open to all.

On the gaming front, for example, developers will be able to directly access Open GLS and audio and take advantage of Gingerbread's gyroscope support to create slicker, faster-moving games. Offering developers VoIP via SIP, Android 2.3 also gives application authors the ability to easily build two-way internet video calls into their apps.

In multimedia, support for the WebM video compression standard that Google spearheaded may play a role in set standards for high-definition video playback. WebM makes it possible to play videos hosted on YouTube or other websites from the Android browser.

Near Field Communications (NFC) is another notable enhancement. An onboard NFC Reader application will be able to scan NFC tags. According to Google, you would typically scan an NFC tag with your Android app for a shortcut to a website whose URL is embedded in the tag. This is similar to what you could do with a QR code, except that NFC also requires some hardware compatibility (think Bluetooth). The Nexus S will have a baked-in NFC chip. (For an example of one implementation, check out our hands-on field test of an NFC payment solution.)

How one-touch word selection will work in Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).(Credit: Google)

Back on the interface side, Android 2.3 users can expect to see a multi-touch virtual keyboard for quickly entering symbols with on-screen keyboard shortcut combinations. If you make a mistake, Gingerbread will let you switch to voice mode to make a correction. Google has also revamped its text-selection workflow to make it faster to get at text with just one touch (in Android 2.2, or Froyo, you touch and hold a word to start selecting text).

We also welcome the new camera feature that lets you shoot and record video of the front-facing camera, not just the (higher resolution) rear-facing camera.

New features

• Theme and user interface touch-ups
• Redesigned virtual keyboard with different font
• Switch to voice mode to make text corrections
• Multi-touch capabilities to enter keyboard shortcuts
• One-touch text selection
• Power manager closes some CPU-hogging apps
• More accessible power management app
• Internet calling via SIP
• NFC support
• New download manager
• Access to front-facing camera from camera app
• Enhancements for game developers
• API support for sensors including gyroscope, gravity and barometer
• New audio effects for developers, including sound mixing
• Support for VP8/WebM video compression
• Camera API access for developers

You can read up on more details in the Android 2.3/Gingerbread SDK highlights and in the release notes for developers. As for when you'll get Gingerbread over-the-air on your Android phone, here's what we know.

Via CNET

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However, Android and iPhone users will have something to look forward to. In addition to announcing platform changes, Zuckerberg shared some updates to Facebook for iPhone and Android. The iPhone app will be receiving Facebook Groups, which recently made its debut on the social network. Facebook Places, its listing service, is also getting updated, and will include friend-tagging. In addition, after you check in to a location with Places, you'll be able to add a photo.

Updates will be more significant on the Android app. "The Android app has traditionally been a little bit behind," Zuckerberg said. As it happens, Google bought the company that Facebook was going to use to help build its Android app. The changes to the Android app will close the gap between the two smartphone platforms and bring about more parity. In addition to the interface changes that could arise, Facebook for Android will also include Places and Groups for Android.

The updated Facebook and Android apps will be available beginning today (now) in the Android Market and iPhone App Store, and will roll out to US users. Local deals are only available for iPhone at launch; only about 50 per cent of users will see it in the updated app today, a Facebook spokesperson told CNET. International users will have to wait it out for now.

Single sign-on

Facebook also announced a single sign-on, which is roughly an extension of (and replacement for) services like Facebook Connect, connecting you to third-party social apps and services. If you're already logged on to Facebook on your mobile phone, you'll be able to sign in to other apps using your Facebook credentials.

Groupon's Mihir Shah, vice president and general manager of mobile, demonstrated single sign-on on Groupon's mobile app, a service that offers people in certain cities local deals. Like clockwork, he signed in using his Facebook credentials. Zynga also showed off a poker app that worked the same way.

Other single sign-on partners include Yelp, Flixster, Loopt, BooYah and Scvngr.

While it appears like a simple measure, single sign-on may dramatically reduce the amount of typing and tapping you do on a mobile phone. However, Facebook will need to address how it will keep malicious apps from delivering dangerous payloads to unsuspecting users through single sign-on. The company will likewise have to contend with users who would prefer to keep Facebook in the dark about their individual comings and goings on partner sites and apps.

Via CNET News and Download.com.

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• Samsung Wave
• HTC Legend

You'll need a BlackBerry ID and a plug-in before you can send downloads to your BlackBerry smartphone.
(Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)

But before you dive in, you'll need to go through a set-up process to register your BlackBerry ID (if you don't already have one) and install a browser plug-in to facilitate the PC-to-phone transfer. You'll also need to plug your phone into the computer during set-up and make sure you have the most recent version of App World on your BlackBerry. After that, pressing the Download button on a product page in the App World online storefront should trigger a download.

In addition to purchasing apps online for BlackBerry download, the App World 2.0 catalogue lets you access reviews and recommendations and gives you a My World management page that's linked to your account.

Previously, the online App World catalogue brokered downloads on your BlackBerry in a roundabout way that helped little. Clicking the "Download" button triggered a text message that contained a link for the app's page in the App World on your BlackBerry.

RIM isn't the first to dream up remote PC-to-phone downloads. Google had that honour when it announced in May that the company is working on an update for its Android Market, but so far the only fruit of that labour has been the Chrome to Phone browser plug-in that can send snippets from websites to your Android phone.

Via CNET US

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As if it weren't already a breeze to spend money on Amazon, the retail giant's updated Amazon for iPhone app just made it even easier to instantly shell out for wares.

Amazon's new barcode scanner lets you instantly compare prices and buy. (Credit:CBSi)

The latest version of Amazon Mobile, 1.2.8, contains a barcode scanner in its search screen. As with barcode scanners in other mobile apps, Amazon Mobile uses your iPhone's camera to take in a product's zebra-striped barcode. Amazon's servers then find a match, and after you select the item, you can sign in to your account to purchase the product on the spot.

As on the regular Amazon website, you've got gift options and a choice of multiple shipping addresses. Just like before, you can also add the product to your wish list or cart for later purchasing.

Although the app won't clear your latest search until you enter a new one, we would like the option of reviewing previously scanned items for later reference, especially if we find ourselves without the product later on.

Amazon's iPhone app isn't the first to match barcodes to items in a database, of course, and shopping comparison apps have existed for a couple of years. However, Amazon's addition will be an effective way to convert barcode scanning into concrete sales with the touch of a finger. As one colleague commented, "Amazon just made the world its showroom".

It's a sure bet that the online superstore hopes this iPhone app will help prop up its flagging second-quarter earnings, which failed to meet Wall Street's expectations.

Amazon Mobile is free. Barcode scanning will work on iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS devices running iOS 4.

Via CNET

(Front page image credit: Multi-coloured Barcode image by Dominic Alves, CC2.0)

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