Microsoft's Ventura could be a cloud music / video platform, have something to do with Zune

We have already told you what cloud computing is. Here is another application of the concept!  Zune hasn't gotten much love from Microsoft as of late, but that might change over time -- ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley noticed that the company is staffing up for a cloud-based multimedia project (by a group known as "Ventura Media Services") directed at PCs, TVs and mobile devices. "The team is a tight group of music and video lovers that create services and experiences revolving around music/video discovery and consumption," read a series of job postings that date back at least as far as July of 2010, calling for software developers in Beijing and Redmond who are familiar with the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. (Two of them have "Zune" in the job title.) While it's hard to say if this project is a major focus for Microsoft no matter how often the job posting says "large scale" (we count four times) it'd definitely be nice to have some competition for Google and Apple when they start drawing the multimedia-streaming battle lines.

Samsung attempts to acquire disgruntled Symbian developers for it own Bada operating system

We can't help but feel like this is one sinking ship coming to the aid of another, but for what it's worth, Samsung has apparently started emailing Symbian developers in India with a very simple message: "if you're unhappy about what's going on, give Bada a shot." Sammy, of course, is referring to Nokia's decision to slowly phase out Symbian over the course of roughly 150 million additional shipped handsets -- not a small quantity, granted, but the platform's still got a definitive expiration timeline attached to it now that's undoubtedly going to sour devs who want a mobile platform that they know will be around for the long haul. Though Bada doesn't have the global traction that Symbian enjoys, it's definitely geared to target some of the same low-end market segments Symbian was starting to gun for over the past couple years... so we suppose we see some synergy. Still, if it were our engineering dollars, we'd be hard-pressed not to target a platform with a little more multi-manufacturer support and worldwide reach -- Android, for instance. Can't blame Samsung for trying!

PlayStation Suite coming to Tegra 2 devices

NVIDIA's Tegra Zone app, freshly launched this month, has become the source for a nifty little bit of Sony-related news: the PS Suite that is currently slated to deliver PlayStation One games to the Xperia Play is coming to Tegra 2 devices. Of course, if you're keeping up with your Sony tablet exclusives, you'd already know that the company's expected to unveil a Tegra 2 slate this year, so don't go assuming that your Xoom will necessarily get the PlayStation Certified badge. Those are clearly not on the immediate horizon and we suspect Sony might be waiting for quad-core mobile chips -- such as the one within its upcoming NGP -- to hit the market before rolling the last-gen console's wares out to pockets and messenger bags across the world.

Update: Upon further investigation, we've been unable to confirm the claim about PS2 games being on Sony's PS Suite roadmap. Android and Me reports it to have come from NVIDIA, but the original Tegra Zone post makes no reference to PS2 games. We've updated the post to reflect this.

INFINITI UPDATES EUROPEAN-SPEC G FOR 2011

Infiniti has updated its European-spec G range for the 2011 model year. Although the new models don’t receive any styling changes, the G line has been enhanced with more features for the 2011 model year.

For 2011 all G models – sedan, coupe and convertible – now come standard with Infiniti’s seven-speed automatic gearbox. Steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters are also part of the package, giving driver’s a bit more control.

In order to simplify the ordering process Infiniti has reduced the number of available options for 2011 while making more content standard. G models now come standard with such features as 18-inch wheels, Xenon headlight and power front seats. Hit read more for details and pictures!

Samsung Corby II gets official, colorful

Like the original Corby, the S3850 Corby II is all about doing full touch in a cheap, fun, colorful way, featuring a 3.14-inch QVGA display, a 2 megapixel camera, microSD expansion up to 16GB, and quadband EDGE data; in other words, you're not going to set any browsing speed records with this one. Look for it to launch in Germany toward the end of the month with follow-on releases coming in the CIS, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and other parts of Europe (in other words, pretty much everywhere except North America).

Video - Google brings Instant Previews to mobile, makes them seriously useful

We've never had a use for Google Instant Search on mobile, so we didn't expect much when Google's Instant Previews invaded the smartphone realm as well. You know what? They're actually surprisingly useful. Instead of trying to cram additional information into Google's already-crowded mobile website, Instant Previews adds a little magnifying glass next to most every result instead, and clicking on the magnifier brings up a series of cached thumbnails of each page that you can scroll through in portrait or landscape modes. It's a very visual way of finding what you're looking for, and more importantly, it's quick even over 3G, saving time and mobile bandwidth that would otherwise be spent clicking through links one by one. Rather than decipher that long-winded explanation, though, why don't you try it out for yourself or watch our video demonstration after the break? 

BMW reveals all-new 2012 6-Series

The third generation of BMW’s somewhat controversial 6-Series Coupe is finally here as the German automaker has taken wraps off of the all-new 2012 650i Coupe.

BMW’s previous two attempts at the 6-Series models drew a fair amount of criticism, with many flat out calling the vehicles ugly. But the new 6-Series is truly new, with purposeful, bold lines that convey a sense of sport and finesse simultaneously.

While the changes to the sheet metal are in a sense quite simplistic, and unarguably not far from those found on the latest 3-Series Coupe, the changes appear to be exactly what this coupe needed to convey the sporty characteristics that are hiding beneath the sheet metal. Hit read more for details and pictures.

Nokia X1-00 is ultra cheap, ultra loud

Nokia's just-announced X1-00 candybar has exactly two claims to fame: first, at €34 ($47) unsubsidized, it's one of the cheapest phones that the company has ever offered. Second, it's got a gigantic loudspeaker mounted on the back that promises 105 phon of perceived loudness (no, we didn't know that was a unit of measurement, either) -- apparently enough to rattle glass without distortion. As with many other devices targeted at emerging markets, the X1-00 featured an integrated LED flashlight, FM radio, and five distinct contact lists, good for sharing the phone among multiple members of the family. It's also got a microSD slot good for up to 16GB of expansion, a color display, and Nokia's entry-level Series 30 operating system. Look for it in April in your choice of flashy colors.

Best Buy knocks Nexus S down to $100 on contract for two weeks only

Had your eyes on a Nexus S but still haven't taken the plunge? Then it looks like that indecisiveness has finally paid off, as Best Buy has now knocked a full $100 off the phone for a limited time if you're signing up for a contract. That's from today until March 23rd, to be precise, and it seems that your local Best Buy doesn't even need to be a T-Mobile dealer for you to get the deal -- you'll just have to get the phone shipped to you. Hit up the link below for all the details.

Microsoft taking 'extra time' to make sure Windows Phone 7 copy and paste update is solid, targeting late March

Eric Hautala -- the cog in the Microsoft machine responsible for Windows Phone 7's update mechanism -- has taken to the company's official Windows Phone blog today to deep-dive on some of the concerns, problems, and delays that have dogged the platform's updates so far. In brief, Hautala says that the glitches that hosed the small February update for a few customers has brought the company to pause and take the time to make sure everything's rock solid before proceeding with the so-called NoDo update -- which includes copy and paste, performance improvements, and CDMA support -- and had originally been scheduled for the early part of March. Now, they're looking at "the latter half of March," which lines up with what Microsoft France had reported yesterday. He goes on to say that the problems have zero effect on the timeline for awesome new features previewed at MWC last month, which would seem to allay fears that the Mango update had been pushed to 2012. Needless to say, Windows Phone's still got some catching up to do -- so that's good news.