It's official. HBO content just entered the digital halls of iTunes with variable pricing. Episodes of Rome and The Sopranos pop for $2.99 while The Wire and Sex and the City (yes the complete series) go for the iTunes "standard" pricing of $1.99. We just fired-up iTunes and confirmed it just like the rumor predicted. With Apple backing down from its strict, flat-rate pricing policy, don't be surprised to see additional content from previously iTunes-shy providers arriving in succession.

Update: Deadwood ($2.99) and Flight of the Conchords ($1.99) are also available with "much more" apparently in the works.

Update 2: Apple just released the PR.

[Thanks, Turki]

We've got some news that'll make a PC gamer or two weep: the Wall St. Journal is reporting that as of next month Dell will be dropping four models of XPS performance PCs to focus solely on pushing Alienware. Certainly no surprise though, we've been waiting for this move since they picked the company up back in 2006. Of course, there will be certain challenges, namely how Dell will keep its Alienware brand separate (read: pristine) -- as its done since the acquisition -- yet be able to offer performance PCs on its site alongside the rest of its machines. It's also unclear what will happen to is XPS line of laptops, since those are big sellers as well, but we'll all have to wait patiently for the bomb to drop before knowing for sure what Dell's cutting and what they're not. [Warning: subscription required]

Good news and bad news on the imminent 3G iPhone front. O2 apparently got another batch of 16 giggers in stock, since it's currently accepting orders, while the 8GB remains out of stock, and both phones remain unavailable on the US and UK Apple Stores. More encouraging, however, is the new listing of an "iPhone Black" model on AT&T's account management site. There's nothing else on the site to hint at specs or release or whether this is indeed the upcoming 3G iPhone, but it does fall in line with the word we have on a glossy black back for the much anticipated phone. Whether all this means we have weeks or months to wait is anyone's guess, but there are plenty of encouraging signs out there for the true believers to cling onto.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: Telecom Italia Mobile's Executive VP Luigi Licciardi claims they'll be selling the iPhone 3G next month. How's that for clarity? [Thanks, Giovanni]

Singapore Telecommunications (aka SingTel) announced that it's secured agreements to distribute the iPhone in Singapore (on SingTel Mobile) and its partly-owned subsidiaries in Australia (on Optus), India (on Bharti Group), and the Philippines (on Globe Telecom). Vodafone's also distributing the iPhone in India and Australia though, so we'll have to wait until later this year to find out who gets to shoot first.

Eye-Fi's expanding from a single card to a family of three tonight. All are the same 2GB as before, but now we've got the new flagship Eye-Fi Explore ($129), which includes geotagging courtesy of Skyhook (the same WiFi-based location system that helps the iPod touch and iPhone find their way) and on-the-go WiFi via Wayport. Then you've got the Eye-Fi Share ($99) -- basically the same card we used to know simply as the Eye-Fi -- and finally the Eye-Fi Home ($79), which appears to only be able to upload photos through desktop software using your home network. Expect 'em all on sale come June 6th.

Damn, took 'em long enough! RIM finally announced the BlackBerry Bold / 9000 -- we've got specs, but no price or hard launch date. Here we go:

• Family will include HSDPA and EV-DO versions (including an AWS-capable 1700MHz version), much as we'd heard
• 480 x 320 display
• 625MHz CPU, 1GB internal flash memory
• 802.11a/b/g, Bluetooth 2.0 (with A2Dp), GPS, MicroSDHC
• 480 x 320 video recording, photo geotagging
• 4.5 x 2.6 x 0.55-inches, 4.7 ounces

PC Mag's got the (latest) hands-on, hit the read link.

Late's better than never -- usually, anyway -- and a rumored release date finally stuck long enough for the BlackBerry Curve 8330 to make an appearance on Sprint's online store. In fact, as "mid-May" goes, May 9 is actually on the early side of things if you want to get technical about it, so we guess some kudos are actually due here. Sprint's asking $179.99 on contract with rebates for the pleasure of indulging in its latest mobile productivity tool, which you'll ironically be using to respond to emails during meetings that you're supposed to be listening in on. Funny how the world works, isn't it?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Times haven't been so great at Helio, but it looks like the troubled MVNO could be snapped up by Virgin Mobile. mocoNews did a little digging after Virgin's recent Q1 conference call, and says that the two companies are currently in merger talks. Since both companies use Sprint's network, the tech would be compatible, and the deal would give SK Telecom a way to keep Helio going as it tries to gain a foothold in the US market. Nothing's set in stone yet and the two companies aren't talking, but we'll definitely keep an eye on this one.

While not quite as exciting as March's week of Latitude scoops, we've got ourselves some infos on what look to be Dell's upcoming Inspiron 1435, 1535 and 1735 consumer laptops. Seems they'll all be sharing the same basic design language, pictured above, and will be privy to some rather expansive aesthetic customization options if you're into that type of thing. Specs are the typical Dell smorgasbord of options, but all three laptops start at around 1-inch thick and taper up to 1.5 inches thick. All three also sport slot-loading drives, with a Blu-ray option, and processors ramp up to Core 2 Duo T5850 2.16GHz chips. 3G options are also available across the lineup, and just about anything else you might find useful in a mid-range laptop. Apparently the 1435 isn't due until October, but the 1735 is coming on June 9 and the 1535 on the 26th of this month.

One of the worst-kept secrets in Verizon's stable is finally getting official today; that's right, ladies and gentlemen, meet the Glyde from Samsung. Wearing CDMA guts underneath its F700 clothing, the fashion-friendly QWERTY slider offers a 2 megapixel cam with flash and autofocus, GPS, the full range of Bluetooth profiles, microSD slot, and a true HTML browser. Unlike its crosstown competition -- the LG Voyager -- the Glyde doesn't offer support for Verizon's VCAST TV service, but we imagine most folks will consider that a minor (read: nonexistent) inconvenience. Look for the phone to start circulating into retail channels this week for a princely $249.99 on contract after $50 rebate. Have a quick gander over on Engadget Mobile for a few shots of the Glyde doing what the Glyde does best -- posing for press photography, that is.

The Criterion Collection's long-awaited HD debut -- delayed by that annoying format war -- finally has a date, as well as a list of the first movies getting a definitive release in 1080p. If that wasn't enough, try this bit on for size: They won't charge viewers extra for the privilege. That's right, according to the e-mail that went out to subscribers today, all Blu-ray releases will feature HD picture and sound (no word on what codecs, although we expect nothing but the best considering the company has been mastering and restoring all releases in HD for years now), all the supplemental content and a matching (unspecified) price to their standard DVD editions. The complete email and list of a dozen movies follows after the break, along with a note that The Last Emperor will also be released in its original theatrical version on both formats for $39.95, while Walkabout will be an all-new edition.

[Thanks, Erik]

iRex has a new consumer e-book reader out today, which incorporates some of the company's higher end specs and makes them available in something a little more palatable for end users. Although it doesn't have the Kindle's pervasive connection, it can still sync RSS feeds, as well as take notes with its touchscreen. Check out the specs:

• 8.1-inch XGA display, 16 grayscale
• 400MHZ XScale CPU, 64MB RAM
• Wacom-based touch input
• 256MB flash memory, USB, MMC, and CF slots
• Reads PDF, HTML, TXT, Mobipocket, JPG, BMP, and PNG
• 3.5mm audio out
• Travel-hub add-on with... Ethernet! Oookay.
• 8.5 x 6.1 x 0.63-inches, 15.3 ounces

It launches May 9th in Europe, and will sell for a very hefty sum of €499 ($770 US). But hey, it does come bundled with 50 public domain classics, so, um, that's something. Some more shots after the break.

[Via MobileRead, thanks Adam]

Well, what do you know? Sometimes even the most repetitive of rumors finally comes true. Barely 12 hours after the Wall Street Journal reported that a deal between Sprint, Clearwire (and just about everyone) else was dangerously close to going down, it seems as if the bottom lines have indeed been signed. Details are pretty light at the moment, but we definitively know that Sprint Nextel Corp. and Clearwire Corp. will be merging their "next-generation wireless broadband businesses to form a new wireless communications company." Quite simply, the new WiMAX-pushing outfit will be called Clearwire, even though Sprint will hold around 51-percent of the firm, while existing Clearwire shareholders will own 27-percent and the new investors will hold 22-percent. New investors? Ah yes, Intel, Google, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks will collectively invest $3.2 billion in the new company, but that figure is "based on a target price of $20 a share of Clearwire's common stock, and is subject to a post-closing adjustment."

[Via CNN]

Here we are in London at the Soho Hotel with HTC, and we are among the first to see their new Diamond handset. While we thought we may see three new products in three different form factors, HTC Prez and CEO Peter Chou led-off the event by mentioning that they would be launching just one product today. He peppered his intro by talking about the Touch, so we were prepared to see an update on that product utilizing their TouchFLO tech.

The device has some pretty nice interface tech that they're calling TouchFLO 3D that heavily emphasizes one-touch browsing and single-finger dialing. They emphasized web accessibility, zoom-in navigation with "just one hand" and not too many fingers. As expected, the device is loaded with Windows Mobile 6.1, a VGA screen and HSDPA 7.2, among other nice specs.

Updates, specs, and pics after the break!

Vodafone's just got a tiny, minor, insignificant announcement to make this morning: it's signed with Apple to sell the iPhone in ten markets, including Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy (so much for Telecom Italia), India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey. Expect the phone later this year -- that's all we know for now. Score one (or ten?) for Voda.

[Thanks, iB3nji]