Kicking off your weekend right it’s your morning dose of tech — the US Update. We’ve got the latest forecasts on the BlackBerry PlayBook Q1 2011 shipments, a story on an electric car traveling from London to Edinburgh, the Motorola Atrix Orange UK release date and more.
According to Quanta Computer, the Taiwan-based company responsible for manufacturing the BlackBerry PlayBook, production levels are expected to reach one million units in Q1 2010. This means the PlayBook could outsell the Motorola XOOM which is forecasts to ship 700,000 to 800,000 units during the same time.
The BBC’s Brian Milligan took up a challenge to drive from London to Edinburgh in an electric car this week. The journey took him four days to complete, required nine charging stations and quite a bit of patience.
The BlackBerry PlayBook SDK beta is now available. Even better, RIM has confirmed they’ve extended their ‘free BlackBerry PlayBook’ offer until March 15, 2011, so if you’re a developer hoping to explore the world of BlackBerry, now’s the time.
The Mac App Store is rapidly approaching its ten billionth download. To celebrate the milestone, Apple is giving away a $10k iTunes gift card to the person who downloads the ten billionth app. You can entry up to 25 times per day and even free apps count so get going!
Last up this morning is the latest on the Motorola Atrix for Orange UK. A leaked document shows the handset will be launched on March 1st in the US for At&t customers. Previously we were told Q2 2011, with May being the likely date. Now that we know At&t will get the super-phone in March it looks like Orange UK might get the Atrix sooner than expected!
That wraps up things this fine morning from the states. Thanks for spending your morning with us as we break the headlines fresh off the press from our side of the world. Until Monday, this is Nick saying over and out.
