The LG Thrill 4G was announced at CTIA four months ago , but wasn’t given its rightful time in the sun due to a much larger elephant in the room. Now the phone’s launch is quickly approaching, however, and the AT&T-branded Optimus 3D is ready to get some glory. We were sent not one, but two separate emails this morning from Radio Shack insiders with a few details about the retail chain’s rollout of the device. As it turns out, visitors to The Shack can be offered the opportunity to reserve a Thrill — supposedly gearing up for an August 7th launch — starting today with the purchase of a $50 gift card. Read more…

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Microsoft’s success so far with the Kinect motion sensing controller-camera for the Xbox 360 could be expanded into even more hardware. ZDNet reports that during this week’s Microsoft Research Faculty Summit, the company’s Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie said that he sees a day in the future where both PCs and also mobile phones could have Kinect-based cameras built inside them. His comments can be found in full in a transcript on Microsoft’s press site.

The uses of Kinect beyond gaming could include improved types of video conferencing. Mundie states upcoming launch of the Avatar Kinect feature for the Xbox 360 is an example of that kind of feature business could use. He says, ” …

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Verizon, which reported strong wireless subscriber growth but weak average user revenue earlier Friday, told analysts on an earnings call that it spent $8.9 billion on network upgrades and other improvements in the first half of the year.

But looking ahead to the second half, the company said spending would be “going down” across its wireless and wired businesses.

Verizon said it expects to spend $16.5 billion in capex for the year, meaning there’s only $7.6 billion remaining in the budget — a 15% drop from the first-half spending pace. Read more…

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The NB500 eschews the dual-core AMD processor and Harman Kardon speakers of its shinier sibling, the NB550D, and plumps instead for a single-core 1.66GHz Atom N455. That provides predictably weak performance. It scored 0.16 overall in our application test, and its responsiveness score was 25% short of its dual-core rivals. Its Intel GMA 3150 graphics won’t let you play high-definition YouTube or iPlayer footage smoothly, either.

The screen is average, with a resolution of 1,024 x 768 and brightness level of 217cd/m2. The gloss finish gives the impression of greater punch than the HP Mini 110, but its contrast ratio is actually inferior. It

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Microsoft’s hardware department has a reputation for producing some high quality computer peripherals, and this newest device doesn’t seem to buck the trend. The new Microsoft Explorer Touch Mouse was hinted at in a few (probably accidental) product leaks recently, and today the company made it official.

Although a glance at the name might lead you to think that this new mouse is just aping Apple’s Magic Mouse, which replaces the entire top surface of the accessory with a multitouch surface, the two gadgets are only perfunctorily similar.

The majority of the new mouse is your basic mouse – ambidextrous, amorphous shape, tapering to the front with two physical buttons.

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After Nokias horrendous second quarter earnings with their sharp sequential declines in smartphone and mobile phone shipments, does the company still have a shot at regaining its competitive edge?

Perhaps, but not for much longer. Smartphone sales down by a third. Overall sales of core devices and services down by 23 percent. Precipitous market share losses like these suggest Nokias window of opportunity here if one even exists is closing.

Nokia is back.

Nokia EVP Niklas Savander, 2010

Going forward, execution is critical.

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