While the economy has been bad consumers have still been buying and replacing computers. Rather than buying the expensive notebooks that they might have went for in years past, many consumers looked to cheap netbooks for computers.

Research firm StrategyAnalytics reports that netbook shipments in 2009 boomed with a total of 30.2 million units shipped globally. That number is a 79% growth compared to the previous year’s netbook shipments.

Printer ink can get pretty expensive. It would be great if we had printers that didn’t need a new ink cartridge every day. It’s not just a dream anymore. A printer like that has been developed called Prepeat, though it is expensive.

The Prepeat printer doesn’t use any ink or toner cartridges, it uses a special thermal head and plastic sheets to print and erase on documents. And that means you can use the same paper again and again. The paper can be used 1,000 times to erase and re-print documents.

HP now has an updated version of its TouchSmart 600 Quad All-In-One PC series. It comes equipped with the newest Intel Core i7 processor. You get your choice of either an Intel Core i7-720QM 1.6GHz or Core i7-820QM 1.73GHz CPU.

Some other specs include an 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT230M graphics card, a 23-inch Full HD multitouch display, up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM, up to 1.5TB hard drive, a built-in webcam, a slot-loading DVD drive, a 6-in-1 memory card reader and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OS.

The BlackBerry Storm wasn’t so hot as the SurePresstouchscreen didn’t do very well. The Storm 2 seems to be doing a little better. But it looks like RIM has a new touchscreen device. The rumors are pointing to something along the lines of the Bold editions.

This one would have a full QWERTY keypad and incorporate a touch-sensitive landscape display. RIM also apparently intends to release a new web-friendly OS with this device. True or not, we will know soon.

If you are a lady or in a glam rock band, you’ll love this. If you happen to be in Japan anyway. Cosmetic company Shiseido has outted some Digital Cosmetic Mirrors in Tokyo malls to help ladies pick out makeup quicker.

The machine can recommend products for the user’s skin type and allow them to view it applied via augmented reality. When you are done, the machine prints out a shopping list and gives you before and after pictures to take with you.

It looks like a new version of a view-master. That’s because this baby is all about shooting 1080p RAW video in stereo. We don’t know much about it right now, but Ikonoskop is just teasing us with some specs. One thing we do know is that we likely won’t be able to afford one.

But we want one. The company already has a $10k 1080p RAW camera, the A-cam dII, and now it’s using the same tech for 3D. With battery and memory this guy weighs 6 pounds and will be able to record 25 or 30 fps in individual RAW sequences and will be built on order.

Symbian, the world’s most popular smartphone operating system, has announced that it’s going open source about four months ahead of schedule. This move will allow more software developers to have access to develop applications and mobile devices based on the operating system.

The plan was to complete the transition of putting the OS under the Eclipse development license and work out deals with existing third party developers by later this summer. Symbian was able to move ahead more quickly, most likely to try and keep an edge on the newer open-source Android mobile operating system from Google.

One of the advantages of owning a PS3 over an Xbox 360 is that Microsoft charges for its Xbox Live service and PSN is free. But maybe not for long. You may or may not have to pay for PSN in the future.

In November, a presentation slide revealed that Sony had a paid subscription plan in the works for PSN. And now Peter Dille in an interview with IGN says that “it’s something we’re thinking about”.

Olympus has expanded their PEN line of cameras. The latest is the E-PL1, which comes in a compact body that packs in a 12.3 megapixel sensor, HD movie recording, a 2.7 inch LCD, image stabilization and a bundled ED 14-42mm f3.5/5.6 zoom lens.

And yes, 720p video recording. There’s also the addition of the pop-up flash. You will have to wait until next month to get your hands on it though. With all these features this compact PEN camera is priced at $600.

If this case mod’s looks could kill, then all of the gods would be slain with one quick glance. This Kratos God of War case mod means business. It’s easily one of the coolest and most unique that we’ve seen.

We have no idea what’s inside. Anyway with an exterior like that it hardly matters. Kratos just looks like he will start swinging blades immediately and slaying anyone nearby. The innards can be accessed by a hatch on his back. Very awesome.

For those of you who have been waiting with bated breath for the Fujitsu T900 tablet, you’ll be happy to know that the T900 is now available in the states. You can choose from a 2.53GHz Core i5 or a 2.66GHz Core i7 processor to go with the 2GB of RAM and 160GB hard drive. So you can get the performance you want.

Along with the option of CPUs, you can also get a modular bay with enough space for an extra battery, an optical drive or a second hard drive. Some other specs include a 13.3″ WXGA touchscreen display with LED backlighting and an SSD replacement option.

So you like the Apple design, but can do without the high price and the Mac OS. Well, then this laptop just might be for you. The X13-S01 was obviously inspired by the folks at Cupertino. Specifically, the MacBook Air.

The X13-S01 features a 13.3″ display and sadly that’s about all we know as far as specs. At its thinnest it measures less than 1cm thin, while the thickest area is 2.3cm. That’s a gray aluminum chassis you see there along with a white keyboard.

The oddly named Tomato T99 is neither red, nor in the fruits and vegetables section of your local supermarket. But it is an interesting device that features digital video recording along with a 1.3-megapixel camera which allows you to use it as a monitoring or spy tool.

It also sports shadow-control to save battery life, where it shuts down the camera automatically when it doesn’t detect anyone there. It’s a feature that will save valuable storage space as well, so that you get all of the important moments that you do want.

Spawn Labs’ Spawn HD-720 is ready to ship, giving you a whole new way to play with your Xbox 360, Xbox, Playstation 3, Playstation 2 and Nintendo Gamecube, whether playing with your friends or being a loner. Enjoy your gaming at home or take it on the road through a network-connected computer.

Are you confused? Put simply, let’s say you are at home and someone is watching the TV that your console is attached to. Just find a different room and play it over your home network. When traveling, you’ll need a broadband Internet connection. This is also a good way to capture video clips of your game so you can brag later.

Look what Gizmodo Brazil has uncovered. A Motorola Android prototype that has never been seen. It was apparently shown to employees of the company last week. So just what is this? Well it looks like a keyboardless version of the Backflip that was shown at CES. The whole general aesthetic, Android build (1.5) and software skin (Motoblur) all fit with the Backflip.

Whatever the case, who knows if we will ever see this phone. It would fit nicely in Verizon or AT&T’s lineup. But since the first pics of this prototype device have shown up in a market far from the US, chances are we will never have it to hold and adore.