After more rumours (and denials) than you can shake a stick at, Microsoft have officially announced the new Xbox 360 Elite, and somehow managed to leave us with more questions than answers. What we can safely tell you is that it’s got an HDMI port, comes with a 120GB HDD…and it’s black.

There’s no official word on which revision of HDMI was used, so we can’t tell you anything more than ‘it’ll do 1080p.’ Given how chuffed some PlayStation 3 owners are with the HDMI 1.3 port in their consoles, we’d be surprised if Microsoft dropped the ball on this one.

The 120GB hard drive finally gives users the space to store decent amounts of HD video content alongside the gigabytes of game demos and Live Arcade games that once fought for the prior 20GB. A cable will be included to transfer data from an existing 20GB drive to the new 120GB drive.

We’ve heard mixed reports regarding whether the Elite will be a permanent SKU, or a limited-edition run for the upgrade-junkies and collectors before the existing Premium console absorbs the HDMI port and larger HDD.

The Xbox 360 Elite will be released in the US on April 29th and will cost US$479. The 120GB HDD will be available seperately and cost $179.

Portable gizmos such as phones, handheld computers and mp3 players can easily get scuffed, dirty and sticky.

Bulky covers are one option, but Nokia in Finland has been experimenting with plastic casings coated with a diamond-like material made from coal. The material is more protective and grime resistant, as well as cheap and bio-degradable.

To make the material electric current is fed through coal graphite. This creates plasma, which is directed towards a plastic casing by high-voltage electrodes. The coal ions penetrate the surface and bond to form an amorphous, diamond-like coating less than 100 nanometres thick. The process works at room temperature, meaning even cheap plastics can be coated this way.

The coating is very tough, but also smooth to the touch. It is also conductive and therefore antistatic, so does not attract dirt easily. Furthermore, the surface reflects and diffracts light in a similar way to shiny metal. And, when the owner has grown tired of the gismo and binned it, the thin layer of coal will eventually degrade naturally.

from News Scientist Tech

If you weren’t able to go to this year’s CES convention (which is probably the majority of you out there), ExtremeTech.com has set up a lovely slideshow filled with photos of the hottest gadgets being shown, and the hottest booth babes showing said gadgets. Head over here to take a look. Here’s a quick sample of what to expect.

Here is the first (leaked) image of the newest cellphone in the SE’s Walkman Series. You aren’t supposed to know this phone exists yet, but here it is in all it’s shiny metal glory. Obviously, no features have been announced yet, so for now you’ll just have enjoy the photo.

Laptopmag.com has named Sony’s Notebook Batteries as the biggest flop of the year:

Every so often, a product has an explosive impact on the market, but not the kind that Apple, Dell, Fujitsu, Lenovo, Toshiba, and others wanted for their notebook computers that included Sony batteries. Massive recalls and several airline bans have led to closer scrutiny on battery safety.

Fine, so the robot itself looks rather innocuous and being that it’s made for wine tasting, it’s conclusions about other substances might be suspect, it’s still a little weird when a robot believes humans to taste like bacon.

I have this burning urge now to have a robot taste me. But, you know, not in the dirty kind of way you’re probably thinking. Pervs.

If you’ve been hesitant to get yourself an Xbox 360 because of all the stories circulating about how often they fail, especially after warranty, then fear no longer. Microsoft has finally admitted to there being serious problems with units manufactured before January 1, 2006. Now I’m not too sure how many units from that run are still being sold, if any, but this news should set some minds at ease. Microsoft will attempt to repair, or if repairs are not possible, will replace the units if you call them at 1-800-4MY-XBOX.

I have been wanting to get one for myself but was waiting until just such a response was made my Microsoft. Of course, the Wii is just around the corner…