As you may have heard, Apple had some sort of event on Wednesday . In amongst the Big News like iPods and iOSs and iTunes and iTVs Apple TVs, Steve Jobs briefly mentioned AirPlay , a replacement for the AirTunes music streaming system used in the Airport Express multi-purpose device. I’ve built my home audio solutions around AirTunes, so this was, for me, the most interesting thing Apple announced. Details on how the system will actually work are rather thin so far but TUAW has been sleuthing around to try and figure out what we can. First, the best bit. Jobs showed an iPad (running the forthcoming 4.2 version of iOS ) being fired up, pressing a few buttons, and streaming its output to a big screen TV via an Apple TV . This addresses my number one complaint: a friend comes to my house, I show them the Airport Express system, I show them the Remote app so they can use their iPhone to control my iTunes… and they ask me why they can’t also stream their own music directly from their device. Sure, this is going to be tough on battery life, but it’s not like I’m short …

Google Wave tried to be the next big thing and didn’t quite make it, but that doesn’t mean that all that effort is going down the drain when Google decided to shut it down . Google has promised to keep Wave alive at least until the end of the year, and now the search engine giant has confirmed that it will release most of the Wave code, dubbed ” Wave in a Box “. The code will allow developers to continue the job where Wave left off, and we’re really looking forward to seeing what developers will be able to come up with. Who knows, maybe some developer will come up with a cool social networking application that will seriously challenge Facebook?

Ah, ha! If you’ll recall, we happened upon a Lenovo-branded netbook of sorts back in June, but curiously enough, Freescale and Pegatron components were powering the thing. Now, it seems that yet another flavor has emerged as the Efika MX Smartbook. Frankly, we aren’t too sure this thing fits into the ’smartbook’ category (given the comparatively spacious 10-inch display), but we are sure that the $349 price point is borderline absurd considering the wealth of decent netbook options at or below that very MSRP. At any rate, those still interested should know that there’s an 800MHz i.MX515 processor under the hood along with 16GB of NAND Flash, an MMC / SD card slot, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, a pair of USB 2.0 ports, integrated 1.3 megapixel camera, a 1,024 x 600 resolution panel and enough oomph to power through HD video, supposedly. Tap that source link if you’re looking to take a risk, but we’d probably recommend against it

Who says Android phones need to be expensive? The Wall Street Journal reports that T-Mo is working with Huawei to add an inexpensive Android phone to their product line up, the Ideos. T-mobile would be the first carrier to have a phone made by Huawei, and the Ideos would be available for less then $200, vs. the $500 most Android phones cost without a contract. The Ideos does have a smaller screen at 2.8 inches, but it still features GPS and Wi-Fi. Currently the Ideos runs Android 2.2 with 3G mobile hot-spot functionality, making it a sure winner for T-Mobile if the talks are successful. Huawei is also in talks with Cricket to bring the Ideos to their network. [via Electronista ]

It seems that one of the beta testers for Google TV couldn’t keep all that goodness to himself, and has posted several pictures and some video of the near-finished interface and hardware. It’s a brief and not particularly shocking video, but seeing it running on a home TV and hearing a regular guy expressing legitimate (if subdued) excitement make it a lot more real. Sorry about the ad before the content, by the way, but you should probably get used to it . The interface looks more or less the same as when it was introduced : nested menu items starting on the left, search bar able to be evoked at any time. There are a few minor visual differences, for instance the bookmarks layout and thumbnails have been tweaked. Interestingly, “Applications” is listed twice. The “What’s On TV” category looks handy; apparently it works as long as your cable or satellite…

Google has announced that despite Wave’s demise as a Google App, its open source code will continue to be developed into a fully-functional application available to anyone with the desire to host it. Although the application won’t retain its Gmail integration, users of “Wave in a Box” will be able to import data from the eventually defunct wave.google.com and still feature threaded conversations. Developers will be able to build on Wave in a Box or use the open source code to repurpose Wave’s technology for new, exciting applications. Google Announces Wave in a Box [Google Wave Developer Blog via ReadWriteWeb ]

It has been a while since we reported on Camangi and its Webstation . They are now working on two Android-powered tablets that look like they are in competition with the Samsung Galaxy Tab . The tablets in question are the Camangi II and the FM600, but not much is known of the sequel to the Camangi. Here is what we know about the FM600. It has a 600MHz Qualcomm processor, 7-inch 800 x 480 capacitive touchscreen display, 512MB RAM, 512MB ROM, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi b/g, VGA front-facing camera, 3 Megapixel rear-facing camera, accelerometer, compass, and SIM card slot. I don’t have a price of availability date on these as yet. Source Related Posts Camangi available for pre-order Two weeks ago we mentioned that the Camangi was almost ready to hit the market, and today we announc… Camangi WebStation is the latest tablet to enter the market What you see here is the WebStation by Camangi. It …

I’ll admit it. I’ll buy almost anything Apple makes. I was going to hold out on the iPad , but after reading more about it, I wound up in line the first day it was for sale. As they say, resistance is futile. That’s not the case with the Apple TV. When Apple brings a product out, I expect a small revolution. Some exciting new concept, or new and unique feature. With the Apple TV, it’s certainly lower in price, but instead of revolutionizing the idea of a set-top box, the new unit actually takes features away from the now discarded Apple TV ‘classic’. First, there is the loss of actually owning a movie or a TV show. When the VCR first appeared in the 70s, the idea of owning a movie was quite unique. Before VHS or Betamax you went to a theater, paid your couple of dollars, or watched the oldies on TV loaded with commercials. Second, the Apple TV requires an HDMI connection — its HDMI port means you need an HDMI hookup or nothing. I understand the …

Last week we gave the Apple loyalists in attendance a chance to rip and rag the iPhone 4 , and this time around we’re doing the same for Motorola’s best frienemies. The Droid X is without question the largest Droid in the family today, and calling it a showstopper on Verizon would probably be understating things. Now that it’s been on the market a few months, we’re curious to know how you early adopters like (or dislike) it. Did the massive screen end up being too large for comfort? Anything you’d tweak software-wise? How’s the VZW service been? Might your world change if Android 2.2 ever hits in official fashion? Go on and let us know how you’d alter this behemoth down in comments below — but give it some real thought first, cool? Cool.

Amazon’s been on a tear with its expanding practice of offering store credit along with the purchase of games – sometimes up to $20. GamerDeals has put together a handy list of all the current offers (a surprisingly large number). Keep reading for highlights. $20 in store credit is being offered for the following upcoming releases: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (all versions), Call of Duty: Black Ops (all console versions), Fable III and Halo: Reach (all versions). For a full listing of the current deals, click here . [Image credit: Nic McPhee ]