Google originally launched its patented cloud-based voice recognition system in 2007 to power its GOOG-411 information service. By gathering data from hundreds of phone calls, it improved the service and now uses it to power automated voicemail transcriptions for Google Voice as well as powering voice-based search for Android and iOS. The company is taking voice recognition one step further on Android by adding "personalized recognition" to its algorithm.

Google's current system is designed to work "regardless of gender, age, and accents, or variations in pitch, pace, and other factors." However, anyone that has used voice recognition software knows that training it to recognize your particular voice and speech patterns makes it far more accurate. In comparison, one look at any Google Voice transcript and you'll see Google's system isn't anywhere close to 100 percent accurate.

Barnes & Noble introduced its Android-powered color e-reader, the Nook Color, at the end of October. The 7" device runs Android 2.1, but was more or less limited to the Nook interface. However, Barnes & Noble is working on an Android 2.2 update for the device which should give users some kind of access to the Android Marketplace as well as a more typical homescreen, potentially making it one of the cheapest Android tablets on the market.

A B&N representative demonstrated the version of Android 2.2, currently in development, to Smartphone Magazine. The update will give users access to the Android Market, though it's not clear if users will be able to access all Android applications or just those developed for the Nook using B&N's recently-released SDK. However, users will reportedly be able to switch between the usual Android interface or the Nook interface as needed.

Beyond enabling a more typical tablet experience, the 2.2 update is also said to address performance and battery life issues. We noted that battery life is significantly shorter for the Nook Color compared to its e-Ink counterpart, so anything that increases the battery life is welcome.

The 7" widescreen display is similar to the screen in Samsung's Galaxy Tab or RIM's PlayBook. However, the $250 price tag of the Nook Color would make it less than half the price of those tablets. There are other hardware differences, to be sure, but for many the price difference may be well worth the trade-off.

Update: A Barnes & Noble spokesperson contacted Ars to let us know that the information reported by Smartphone Magazine is not accurate. While an update to a newer version of Android should roll out early next year, there are currently no plans to enable official access to the Android Marketplace.

"Standard Android applications can run on the device, but we are working with developers to create Nook-specific applications using our SDK," spokesperson Brittany Roth told Ars. "Those will be available via the Barnes & Noble e-book store in early 2011." She noted that developer response has so far been very positive.

However, the Nook wasn't targeted to compete with the likes of the iPad or Galaxy Tab. "The Nook isn't intended to be a general purpose device—it's designed to be a reader's device," Roth said.

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Television has come a long way since the tiny old black-and-white set. Even the console TV big enough to sit on the floor, or the front projection set that many of us grew up with, are long gone for most. Indeed, for some perspective on just how far things have come in just the past decade, consider that the $1,000 Dell Ultrasharp 2000FP 20" LCD monitor that some of us bought in the early 2000's now has modern equivalents for about $200.

But the evolution in TV technology itself almost pales in comparison to the changes that have taken place in how we get video into a TV. Previously, the average consumer had an antenna on the roof or a cable coming in from the cable company. This coaxial cable was screwed into the input on the back of the VCR, which then had a second connection to the TV. Maybe you got a little fancy and actually had to deal with a cable with yellow RCA plugs for composite video in, plus two more, in red and black respectively, as a separate connection for stereo sound. Things eventually got a tad more complicated with the four-pin S-video standard, but fast-forward a few years to today and things have taken a turn for the confusing.

But generally speaking, just about everything today connects to your TV via HDMI. Your antenna or cable still comes through coaxial wiring, but that ends in your TV or your cable box, and everything spit out from there travels via a single HDMI cable, carrying both audio and video, content protection and all. The HDMI factor does simplify TV purchases a bit, but it still leaves some key questions for us to ponder. Among these questions are: How big a screen do I need? What are the differences between panel types? Does it matter what's being watched? What about glare? What's the difference between 720p and 1080p?

For those of you who are facing these questions during the holiday upgrade season, we're here to help.

Apple and Google are reportedly in a bidding war for bankrupt Canadian telecom Nortel's patent portfolio. Unnamed sources speaking to Reuters confirmed that the two companies—among others—participated in the first round of bids on Nortel's IP portfolio, the most highly prized being patents related to 3G and 4G wireless tech.

The source claims that, following the first round of bids, Nortel has grouped the patents into six different technology buckets—this will reduce the possibility that a single company will end up owning all of Nortel's patents. With more than 4,000 patents to Nortel's name, that still puts several hundred into each group, ranging from optical data to online advertising, PCs, and wireless tech.

None of the companies involved in the bidding have publicly disclosed their participation, but Reuters points out that RIM, Apple, and Google are seen as "likely bidders" when it comes to Nortel's patents on 3G and 4G handsets and networking. Nortel had previously been one of the first entrants into fixed and mobile WiMAX in the US (the 4G tech used by Sprint and Clearwire), but later got out to focus on Long Term Evolution (LTE, the 4G tech used by Verizon).

Those LTE patents are likely what Apple is most interested in, since it's rumored that a  "Verizon iPhone" will come with LTE support. Since Verizon plans to have LTE coverage in 30+ cities by the end of this year and plenty more in 2011, such a move would definitely be advantageous for Apple.

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Verizon launched its high-speed USB modems for its LTE (long-term evolution) network only a week ago, and already they're having problems. PCWorld reports owners of the modems have discovered that there is serious handoff lag when the modems switch between LTE and the more widespread 3G network, resulting in the modem holding onto its 3G connection for a while after it has entered an LTE area.

Testers have found that the LTE network is living up to the hype, so far: it pulls down 20Mbps and uploads at 5Mbps, as long as the area is relatively uncrowded. But if you're going to be moving from the comfort of your LTE-wired area, perhaps passing through a 3G-covered train tunnel, it looks like you might have a smidge of difficulty upon LTE reentry.

When the modems lose their LTE connection and pick up 3G, they don't hop back onto LTE once they're in range of the higher-speed connection. One user noted that unplugging the modem and plugging it back in helped it picked up the LTE connection again. Verizon spokesman Jeffrey Nelson claimed this wasn't necessary, but that it may take the modems up to two full minutes to get reaquainted with the LTE signal.

Going between LTE and 3G areas is admittedly not the direst of circumstances—you're still on the Internet, while on a train or in a park, without being physically connected to anything. But if you're the impatient type, it might be best to save Skype calls or video streaming for times when you know you won't be moving around too much.

Nelson noted that a fix is in the works for the problem, and said that Mac compatibility will be coming soon.

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Apple may go whole-hog in the imaging department for the next-generation iPad by adding both a front-facing and rear-facing camera. Anonymous sources in the iPad supply chain speaking to Reuters say the next iPad will have both cameras in addition to being thinner and lighter. An improved display is also reportedly in the works.

One of the major criticisms of the iPad was its lack of camera hardware. Competing tablets that are beginning to come to market, such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab, feature one or more cameras built in.

Apple avoided adding camera hardware to the iPod touch for several generations, though the latest iPod touch features a FaceTime compatible camera on the front as well as a decidedly low-resolution camera on the rear. The rear-facing camera also lacks autofocus, but can produce decent, low-resolution stills and 720p HD video with adequate lighting. The iPod touch itself is simply too thin, and likely too inexpensive, to include a high-resolution autofocus camera module like that on the iPhone 4.

It seems obvious that Apple will add a relatively inexpensive FaceTime camera to the iPad—the more devices that can use Apple's video calling tech, the better. Unlike the iPod touch, there's plenty of room to also house a high-resolution camera module inside the iPad. The higher asking price of the iPad—which starts at about $300 more than the entry-level iPod touch—may be able to absorb the increased costs associated with the camera modules. And it would keep the iPad at feature parity with the competition.

On the other hand, the size and weight of the iPad would make for an awkward camera. Even our limited experience with the smaller Galaxy Tab suggests that a rear-facing camera might end up seldom used. Additionally, the added cost of a higher-end module might be too much for Apple's profit margin comfort. In this case, Apple may choose to use a lower-cost module like that in the iPod touch. This strategy would still allow Apple to check off "rear-facing camera" on the feature list while putting resources toward other hardware improvements, like increased RAM, improved display, or a next-generation processor.

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The Adam Notion Ink Tablet PC is now available for preorder from the Notion Ink blog. Many have pinned their hopes for an iPad killer on the tablet, a demo of which was shown off at CES way back in January.

Notion Ink's tablet was originally slated to run Android 2.2; the developers are hard at work updating it to 2.3, also known as Gingerbread, and may even end up running 3.0, or Honeycomb. According to the company's blog post on the preorders and OS update, this should afford the tablet better OpenGL ES and OpenSL ES support, VOIP, a multitouch keyboard, and better copy-paste features.

The tablet also has some pretty impressive hardware. Notion Ink chose to compete with Apple on screen size by using a 10" screen at 1024x600 resolution powered by and NVIDIA Tegra chip. Some models of the Adam also have "transflective" displays with two modes, full color and e-ink, that users can switch between by pushing a button.

The LCD Wi-Fi version will start at $375.33, and the 3G version at $425.33. The transflective display tablets will start at $499.45 for Wi-Fi, 3G at $549.99. There's still no shipping date, but the preorders are a hopeful step down the road from vaporware to reality.

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Apple plans to drop NVIDIA in favor of Intel's integrated graphics in its upcoming Sandy Bridge processors for use in Apple's 13" laptops, according to a report from CNET. Apple has so far resisted using Intel's current-generation processors in its smallest notebooks due to inferior graphics performance, lack of OpenCL support, and engineering constraints. CNET's sources claim, however, that Apple is impressed with the performance of Sandy Bridge's IGP, and that Intel plans to support OpenCL in some form, which would allow Apple to maintain OpenCL support across its entire computer line.

We decided to take a look at some of the technical aspects of Sandy Bridge and how it would fit in Apple's notebook strategy, and we identified a few aspects that might make Sandy Bridge a good fit for Apple's 13" notebooks. Low voltage variants likely won't ship until the second or third quarter next year, so don't expect a MacBook Air refresh before then—however, the same considerations apply for those models, as well.