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The Samsung Instinct, sold exclusively on Sprint, was met with success as many Sprint customers bought the phone, and many switched to Sprint for the hot Instinct.  In fact, it was the fastest selling 3G smartphone Sprint has to offer.  Naturally, it makes sense that Samsung would introduce a smaller version of the Instinct, reportedly called the “Instinct Mini.“ 

The Instinct Mini has a rumored release date of April 19, so leaked pictures at this point in time makes sense.  The above picture as well as the ones below were posted on a Sprint forum by a user asking “[has] anyone else seen this ???“  Are these pictures actually the Instinct Mini?  No one knows that answer for sure, but as we get close to the rumored launch date of April 19, I’m sure more information will be released. 

Now, in order for the Mini to do better than the Instinct, more than just the size has to be/should be updated.  If the complaints and negative aspects of the Instinct are all fixed in the Mini, then it could do fairly well.  However, the economy comes into play as well, not many people these days are willing to spend unnecessary money so the Mini has to convince people to buy it.

comScore’s online video numbers for the US in January are out, and YouTube is, unsurprisingly, doing great again. In January, 100.9 million visitors viewed 6.3 billion videos on the popular video sharing service, surpassing the 100 million viewers milestone in the US for the first time.

YouTube also led the large growth in online video watching, accounting for 91 percent of the incremental gain in the number of videos viewed compared to December. Fox’s MySpace also experienced large growth: from 444 million videos viewed in December 2008 to 552 million in January 2009, with Yahoo, Viacom and Microsoft’s properties following in places three to five.

The alleged YouTube killer, Hulu, is also growing, but at a much slower rate: from 240 million videos viewed in December 2008 to 250 million in January 2009. Hulu is still closed for most international viewers, and the lack of global buzz around the service might ultimately hamper its overall growth. If we compare the number of videos viewed, in just one month, YouTube has grown nearly two Hulus in size, so there’s a lot of catching up to do for Hulu.

The new start up ZillionTV is using Hulu as its model behind their new set top boxes and has received backing from big names, like ABC, Disney, Fox, NBC, Sony, and Warner Bros. The company will offer a new type of set top box that will stream content to the owner’s TV.

ZillionTV is unique in the way that consumers will have the choice to either rent or buy movies and TV shows or choose to watch them for free albeit with advertisements.  All content included with ZillionTV will be on demand and the consumer is not charged a monthly fee for the service.  Rental fees for television shows and movies will fall in the $1.99 to $3.99 price range.

Included with ZillionTV is a remote control that resembles the Wii remote and uses motion sensor technology to operate.  Although ZillionTV has many unique features, it will face challenges since it is entering into an already crowded on demand market.  ZillionTV is expected to release this fourth quarter and will only cost $50.

The bad news, was pretty ugly.  Instead of turning in the $155 million in sales that the street expected, Palm put up a limp $85 to $90 million.  Times are tough, the Palm Treo Pro has had issues getting to market and the company hopes slack demand is sign of pent-up demand for the Pre.  Normally, I’d jump on companies for blaming their losses on pent-up demand, but in the case of the Pre, I’d bet there are a lot of the loyal Palm army holding off on replacements for the Pre.

This loss shows Palm burned through most of the money recently raised, about $100 million.  CEO Ed Colligan says expenses in developing the Pre and the webOS are putting a strain on company resources, but he sees a path forward in a successful Pre launch.  An awful lot is riding on this phone.

In its statement, Palm said they expect to defer some of the costs of R&D on the Pre over the two year life span or “products economic lifespan.“  It is safe to say that we’ll see the Pre on the market for a solid 24 months, something not even the mighty iPhone did.  Two years does seem like a longer than normal product cycle for a cell phone but I suspect the Pre2 will launch at the end of year one and they’ll fire sale the original model for the second year.

“The much-anticipated launch of the Palm Pre remains on track for the first half of calendar year 2009, but as expected we’ve got a difficult transition period to work through,” said Palm President and Chief Executive Officer Ed Colligan.

While it may look like Western Digital has gone into the mini-fridge business, that’s not the case.  That giant-looking silver box is an 8TB network attached storage device with gigabit Ethernet.  Nope, that’s no typo—eight terabytes in one box with gigabit Ethernet.  It is called the WD ShareSpace and is DLNA certified.  DLNA certified devices are interoperable which means you don’t have to set up things.  If you have a television with DLNA or PS3 or Xbox 360, you ought to be able to access the WD ShareSpace without much work at all.  Also, while it looks huge, take a look at another pic after the break to get an idea of how small this device really is—it looks to be the size of a Drobo. 

What does this thing cost?  This is pretty pricey at $1,699.99.  That’s about the same price as a high end computer system, so what makes the WD ShareSpace attractive?  Well, you won’t have to manage another computer with this device.  The DLNA certification is handy.  The ShareSpace also acts as a iTunes server and as an FTP server.  Plus, WD has something called “MioNet” which allows remote access to the device for both Macs and PCs. 

The biggest draw may be the energy consumption.  The ShareSpace uses WD’s GreenPower drives; WD claims 33% less power used based on its tests using a 1TB dual-drive system with GreenPower versus 1TB dual-drive system using 7200 RPM drives. 

This may be a good solution for a small business that doesn’t want to get involved with a backup server.  Additionally, this may be good for folks who love to hoard data.  WD also offers 2TB and 4TB versions and they cost $699.99 and $999.99 respectively.  You can get them at a savings if you shop around.  The 8TB version will be available this week. 

It is unclear whether or not Microsoft can move with the times and create a new operating system that its customers consider worthwhile

There is a certain irony in Microsoft putting the man that runs its Windows business up for interview with Computing in the same week that the government announced a new commitment to open source.

Bill Veghte faces the daunting task of convincing IT leaders that Windows 7 is the real thing – a stable, ready-to-go system that is ideal for businesses stuttering through a recession to invest in. It would be hard enough were it not for the bad feeling that persists around the disappointment of Vista.

But the challenge for Veghte and his employer is now broader than ever. In the past, new versions of Windows have competed primarily with their predecessors. Thanks to the hiccup of Vista, in the years since the last seriously business-ready operating system, Windows XP, the world has moved on significantly.

No longer is there such a long-term desire for the energy-hungry, feature-rich, high-powered desktop PCs that have fuelled the success of previous Windows incarnations.

Just about the only area of the PC market that is growing at the moment is netbooks ­ – cut-down, low-cost laptops used primarily for internet access that run quite happily under Linux. Even Nokia is talking about moving into the netbook market as it converges with high-end smartphones.

Microsoft will face a new set of decision criteria from IT leaders – ­ not just when or if to upgrade, but what type of device is most appropriate, and which of a wider range of operating systems and applications to choose.

Meanwhile, the old cash cow of the public sector is increasingly opening up to new application ideas ­ – and in particular, open-source software. A new strategy announced last week aims to encourage equal status for open-source and commercial applications.

Admittedly, it is hardly the first time government has tried to make such a move, but Whitehall and council IT managers will now be asking themselves the same question as their corporate peers ­ – for how much longer will we really need Windows?

Amazon has rolled out its Kindle app for the iPhone and iPod Touch.  The app allows users to read Kindle books on the devices.  You can buy the books on your computer and send them to your iPhone or Touch via Wi-Fi, or via the device itself.  If you are a Kindle owner, you can download all your purchased books for free. The iPhone supports the Kindle’s Whispersync service so you can go from reading a book on your device to reading it on your Kindle without losing your place.

Kindle for iPhone looks to give both Google and existing iPhone e-readers such as Stanza a serious run for their money now that iPhone users have access to Amazon’s library of over 240,000 titles - and that number grows everyday.  Kindle for iPhone requires an iPhone or iPod Touch with the 2.1 software update and is available for free from the App Store.

During the Kindle 2 unveiling, the Amazon reps mentioned that Kindle books would work with multiple devices other than Kindle.  Don’t be surprised to see Kindle apps for Palm and BlackBerries once those app stores get started. 

After months of denying engagement rumors, Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady reportedly married Thursday in Santa Monica, Calif. Usmagazine.com says that Dolce & Gabbana dressed the supermodel bride and her three dogs, who wore matching floral lace collars. Guests at the small ceremony included John Edward Thomas Moynahan, Brady’s 1 1/2 -year-old son with ex-girlfriend Bridget Moynahan.

reports that the two are together at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Star Island mansion in Miami Beach. Brown was booked by the Los Angeles Police Department for making criminal threats but his case has not yet been presented to the District Attorney, who will ultimately decide what charges, if any, will be filed. On Wednesday, People.com reports that Rihanna has reunited with her boyfriend, R&B singer Chris Brown, some three weeks after he was arrested for allegedly assaulting her. E! NewsE! quoted D.A. spokeswoman Jane Robison as saying Brown’s scheduled March 5 court date might be postponed while detectives gather more evidence for their case against him. “The D.A. is being even more thorough than usual with this case,” Robison is quoted as saying. “They don’t want to mess it up.”

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