Toshiba's Regza AT300 tablet for the Japanese market delayed until late July, will ship with Android 3.1

To any of our Japanese readers who've been impatiently awaiting Toshiba's Regza AT300 tablet, you're going to have to hold your breath a touch longer. The 10.1-inch, Japan-only slate is going to miss its expected June arrival, and ship in late July instead. That extra tedious trip to market could be worth it, though: when the AT300 finally does land in Akihabara, it'll come with Android 3.1 and all of its resizable widgets on board. But don't expect any surprises, hardware-wise: it'll still pack Tegra 2, a 5 megapixel rear-facing camera, and those full-sized HDMI and USB ports that can make a nerd's heart sing. Makes sense to us, since the Thrive -- the same tablet for the US market -- was already slated to ship with the latest version of Honeycomb. Fair's fair, right?

Japan speeding ahead with 500km/h Maglev train

Traveling the 515 km (320 miles) from Tokyo to Osaka by Shinkansen bullet train currently requires 2 hours and 25 minutes (and costs a small fortune, too). Come 2045, travel between Japan's two largest metro areas will take just over one hour, following the launch of the country's longest maglev track, which just received construction approval from Tokyo. The nine trillion yen project (approximately $112 billion) was first proposed in the 1970s, but was tabled indefinitely due to its astronomical costs, most of which stem from an extensive network of tunnels that will represent 60 percent of the route. You'll be able to get your Japanese Maglev fix beginning in 2027, when the Central Japan Railway launches its high-speed route between Tokyo and Nagoya. One notable neighbor to the west is already operating its own maglev train. China's Shanghai Transrapid has been blasting riders to Pudong airport since 2004, and once achieved a top speed of 501km/h (311 mph). The country is also constructing a 1000km/h vacuum-based train that it plans to launch within the next few years.

AMD confirms tablet-friendly Z-series APU, next-gen Trinity APU for bigger devices

AMD likes to take its time before stepping inside the ring, but it's turned up at Computex with its gown off and mouthguard in. Its much-leaked Z-series Fusion APU (aka "Desna") for tablet devices is now official and could well steal some of ARM's thunder. Whereas ARM chips will get along with the next version of Windows, AMD's Z-series is already tuned into the here-and-now. Its integrated dual 1Ghz Bobcat chips and Radeon HD 6250 graphics should allow the full Windows 7 experience on a tablet, from USB peripheral compatibility right down to XBOX 360 Media Extender functionality. What's more, it drinks less than 6W of power so is significantly leaner than the 9W Ontario APU powering Acer's Iconia W500 Windows 7 tablet. Additionally, AMD claims MSI has already made that leap with its new WindPad 110w (though we can't be sure if the pre-release device we just handled was carrying a Z-series chip).

Meanwhile, AMD left any traces of shyness far behind as it went on to confirm plans for a range of A-series and E-series chips with which it hopes to tackle Intel's dominance in the laptop and desktop spheres -- right up to the level of the Core i7. This includes the leaked high-end quad-core A8 and, more surprisingly, a new Trinity APU. Looking way into the future, AMD intends Trinity to be a successor to the mid-range A-series Llano, which isn't even out yet but is expected imminently. Unfortunately we have no concrete specs for the Trinity -- AMD thought it was sufficient to wave the thing around at the press conference and declare it "2012's best APU". Depending on how you look at it, that's either fighting talk or plain posturing.

Martin Jetpack hits the 5,000 feet milestone, could come to market within 18 months

OK, so the Martin Jetpack may not have gone into commercial production quite as soon as we'd anticipated, but there's still hope on the horizon. Over the weekend, Glenn Martin's flying machine successfully climbed some 5,000 feet above sea level, marking a new milestone in the 30-year, $12 million project. Remotely controlled by a tailing helicopter, the 250-pound craft used its two "superfans" to power itself skyward at about 800 feet per second minute, before safely parachuting back to Earth from a height of about 3,000 feet. As with its last test run, however, the Martin Jetpack was equipped not with a human being, but with a crash dummy. It may have been for the best, though, considering that the machine sustained some damage upon concluding the ten-minute flight. Nevertheless, Martin seems confident that yesterday's test "brings the future another step closer," and is hoping to deliver his brainchild to customers within the next 18 months -- plenty of time for us to hawk enough family heirlooms to afford that $86,000 price tag. Soar past the break for a video of the jetpack's big launch, or check out the source link for a more extensive interview with Martin and some background footage of his invention.

HP gives TouchSmart 610 a second crack, this time with Sandy Bridge CPU options

HP may have announced its TouchSmart 610 all-in-one just a shade too soon for it to ship with Core 2011 processors, but that doesn't mean the company was above pushing out a refresh just a few months later. Now, this 23-inch beast is on sale with a variety of quad-core Core i5 and Core i7 Sandy Bridge CPUs. To recap, what makes the 610 special is its rigid hinge, which allows the 1080p display to slide down so that it's face-up, and nearly flat at a 60-degree angle -- a more ergonomic position for poking 'round the TouchSmart software while standing.

Like pretty much every other HP computer on the market, it comes standard with Beats Audio and, depending on how much money you're willing to shell out, you can trick it out with up to 16GB of RAM, 2TB of storage, and your choice of NVIDIA or ATI graphics with up to 2GB of video memory. Those Sandy Bridge models are available now starting at $1,100, though as always, you can get an entry-level configuration with quad-core AMD innards for $900 and up.

BBC shows us what it's like to live with a bionic hand

We've posted a fair share on bionic limbs and their advancements over the years, but rarely have we had the chance to see a video of one in real world use, on a real person. The BBC has shared a video of a man named Patrick using his bionic arm, which -- long story short -- was partially the result of being electrocuted at work. This is his second one to date and specifically, it's a prototype Otto Bock mind-controlled prosthetic arm equipped with six nerve sensors that let him use the hand as if it were his own-- it supports pinching and gripping with the fingers as well as lateral and circular movement of the wrist. Although the footage is a mundane roll of various day to day tasks -- gripping a bottle to pour a glass of water for instance -- it's quite amazing to realize technology is helping him do things he'd otherwise be deprived of. We'd suggest checking it out at the BBC by clicking the source link below.

Battery-powered 'Black Current' VW Beetle flaunts itself in drag (video)

Electric supercars have been hitting some crazy speeds recently, but this is on another level. The Black Current is a Volkswagen Beetle reborn as an electric drag racer. It hits 135mph and demolishes the quarter-mile straight in 9.51 seconds. What's more, it does it quietly -- all you can hear is the delicious screech of sticky rubber. Plug into the video after the break for a taste of what it's like behind the wheel. And can someone please explain why that other car on the left even bothered to turn up?

Bill Gates considers Skype 'a great purchase' for Microsoft, helped make it happen

The aftermath of Microsoft's announcement that it'll buy Skype for $8.5 billion was filled with speculation about why the price was so high, who Microsoft was bidding against, and who inside Redmond was the driving force behind such a large expenditure. At least one of those queries has been demystified today, thanks to Bill Gates asserting himself as "a strong proponent at the board level for the deal being done." Microsoft's Chairman of the Board expressed his enthusiasm for gobbling up Skype in an interview with the BBC -- one which UK residents may see in full at the iPlayer link below -- and concluded that "it's a great purchase that a lot of innovation will come out of." Adding his support to Steve Ballmer's already public excitement about the Skype takeover, Bill stresses that "the importance of software is higher today than ever," while also predicting that video conferencing is set to become much better and bigger than we've yet seen. We've got our webcams at the ready, Bill!

All 2014 Prius hybrids to roll with plug-in and 2011 pricing, Hoitz and Gamble rejoice

Hybrid cars are sleek, efficient, and even occasionally sexy. Cheap they are not, however, though Toyota hopes to stir up the market in 2014, with affordable plug-in models that also boast much-improved mileage ratings. That year's Prii will ship standard with plug-in, and will quietly conquer at least 90 highway miles per gallon (compared to about 50 mpg for current models), according to Autoblog. The 2014 Prius will also be priced comparably to current non-plug-in models -- around $25,000 -- assuming Toyota can successfully reduce the cost of batteries and other key components. We can only hope that fuel prices aren't any higher three years from now, but even if they are, at least you'll still be able to afford to commute in something larger than a Vespa.

RoboDynamics Luna: the 5-foot tall personal robotic platform (updated)

It's a new era for personal robotics. Meet Luna, the fully-programmable robot companion platform that will ship this year. As a platform, RoboDynamics -- a Santa Monica-based company previously grounded in telepresence -- is trying to position Luna as the 5-foot tall "beige box" of modern robotics. She comes with her own one-click Luna App Store, eight "Luna Expansion Ports" (think 12/5 volt USB for robots), and Luna CloudNet where third-parties can sell additional functionality like face recognition to app developers. The robot ships with a number of personality packs and features an 8-inch touchscreen, two cameras, wireless connectivity, a three-mic array, and a variety of sensors. Oh, and she's portable. Remember, Luna's not a prototype, but a real working robot that you can actually take home for the price of an entry-level fully-loaded laptop.

Update: While $1,000 is the ultimate target price, the initial batch of limited edition Luna robots will ship in Q4 for $3,000. General availability will begin in the second half of 2012 with final pricing coming later this year.

Charlotte Motor Speedway, Panasonic flip the switch on the world's largest HD screen

Charlotte Motor Speedway and Panasonic held an event yesterday to celebrate the completion of the new world's largest HD screen, which measures at 16,000 square feet (200 feet wide and 80 feet tall). Of course, the only natural thing to do when face with a screen this size is to play videogames on it, and CMS got very meta by bringing out NASCAR driver and simulation racing fan Dale Earnhardt Jr. to turn a few laps on the track in iRacing on the brand new display. The 720p display, located on the backstretch, is big enough for fans seated along the front stretch of the track between turn four and turn one to have a clear view of replays, standings and stats all the way across the track. Its official debut will take place May 21st during the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and will also take a turn as a massive HDTV airing clips of Top Gear USA during a History Channel sponsored race the week after. You can see the videogame rig, screen and ceremonial oversized remote above while video of them actually playing is available at the source link.