HP indicated that a 3G WWAN-equipped version of their newest netbook, the HP Mini 1000, would be coming sometime in December. Christmas may be coming early this year folks. According to various sources, you can enable 3G on your Mini 1000s already via a simple hack.

All you have to do is download a driver and slide your SIM card in a hidden slot under the battery. Really, that’s it. This has been proven to work on model number #1033cl. No word on if every Mini 1000 has that mysterious SIM card slot. If you have one and you got this working, let us know.

HP has finally formally announced the long-rumored multi-touch TouchSmart tx2 convertible tablet. The unit will be the world’s first multi-touch consumer notebook. It boasts a 12.1-inch swivel display which is LED-backlit. The tx2 comes pre-installed with Windows Vista. It also comes with a bezel-mounted fingerprint reader, an integrated webcam with microphone, Bluetooth, WiFi, stereo speakers, a multicard reader and a LightScribe SuperMulti DVD burner. HP has also loaded it with an AMD Turion X2 dual-core processor, MediaSmart 2.0 software, a VGA output, Ethernet, and at least one USB port. According to sources, they should be going on sale at the HP website any day now. The company has issued no word on pricing.

CNET published a story today on the sustainability of the big-time PC manufacturers. They postulate that there will be fewer people shopping for new PCs, and fewer businesses making the leap as well.

CNET decided that HP would be best to survive the coming digital recession, citing that a full third of their revenue comes from software and enterprise storage. These mediums won’t be taking as big of a hit as consumer hardware, apparantly.

Dell is also in clear, having recently made a large move to services and software. The company also recently moved to China and India to cut costs, which should also help them survive.

CNET claims that Lenovo is in dire shape, having recently reported a quarterly loss of 78%. The company is doing well in China but not so well in the United States.

Click here for the full story.

The Sony laptop battery recall has hit 100,000, tripling in size since yesterday’s announcement that 35,000 were being recalled due to overheating problems. The recall now includes Li-ion batteries used in some Lenovo and Acer laptops as well as the original list of Dells, HPs and Toshibas. All of the recalled models were sold between 2004 and 2005, with two-thirds being sold outside of the US. Sony also noted that the faulty batteries were made by the same factory that produced a batch of recalled batteries two years ago.

HP is attempting to revive the sluggish netbook market with it’s Mini 1000 netbook. The Mini 1000 will offer an aggressive price point, a polished Linux OS and a skinny aesthetic. As rumored, the Mini 1000 will be ditching VIA an sticking with an Atom 1.6GHz N270 processor. The system will also offer a 10.2-inch display at 1024 x 600 resolution. HP is offering 512MB, 1GB and 2GB RAM configurations, but those with Windows XP will be limited to just 1GB. On the storage front, the company offers the choice of a 60GB 4200 rpm HDD or a 8GB or 16GB SSD. The Mini 1000 also has an SD slot, VGA webcam, 802.11b/g, optional Bluetooth, Ethernet and dual USB plugs.

The netbook also offers a competitive choice between Oses. You can stick with your standard XP, but for $20 dollars less you will be suited with a specialized version of the Ubuntu-based Linux OS, codenamed "MIE."

The XP version is available today for $399, and the Linux MIE version will drop in January for $379.