The Daily Engadget: 70,000 HP Batteries Recalled, BlackBerry Storm 2

Our friends over at Engadget obsessively cover everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics, which is why we compile this daily roundup of their top stuff (or, at least, what we think is tops). For more details on any of these stories, click on the Engadget links in each story below.

70,000 HP Batteries Recalled
Another year, another battery recall. This time it's HP, which just announced that 70,000 of its lithium-ion batteries are posing a potential fire risk. Click over for the complete list of affected laptop models.

First Look at the BlackBerry Storm 2
Two weeks ago, RIM CEO Jim Balsillie announced that the company was working on a follow-up to its BlackBerry Storm. We now have some spy photos of this new device, codenamed "Oden." The biggest design change we noticed between the old phone and this new Storm 2 is the addition of touch-sensitive buttons on its face, although Engadget's source claims that most of the new sauce is happening under the hood. Check out the pics, here.

Cell Phones Overwhelm White House Press Conference
Think a cell phone ringing in a theater is bad? How about one going off in the middle of a tense political press conference? Click on through for the uncomfortable vid.




Sony Posts $1 Billion Loss
Everyone's wallets are hurting right now -- some more than others -- but few as much as Sony. The electronics giant recently announced that it lost $1 billion in the fiscal months between 2008 and 2009 -- its first loss in 14 years. Looks like that risky bet on the PlayStation 3 didn't pay out so well.


Rumors Swirl about Microsoft's Zune HD
Talk of a next-generation Zune media player has been getting plenty of coverage in the lead-up to the Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) in a couple of weeks. According to the latest rumors we've heard, the new device is something of a portable gaming machine and media player. What, like an iPod Touch?

Random House Disables Text-to-Speech in Kindle 2
In lieu of continued grumblings and controversy over the Amazon Kindle 2's text-to-speak function, publisher Random House has opted to disable the feature on around 40 of its titles. This is a big move -- when a giant like Random House takes this kind of step, you can bet other publishers will be taking a much longer look at doing the same thing.

DARPA Wants Telepathic Soldier Communication
There have been some crazy experiments performed on soldiers over the years, but the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) wants to take it to the next level -- specifically, the telepathic level. Word has it that the agency is working on technology to analyze "pre-speech" thoughts and enable completely silent communication.

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