Engadget

File this under "things we could have sworn already existed." Microsoft just announced two mice, the Sculpt Mobile Mouse and Sculpt Comfort Mouse, and believe it or not, this marks the first time Redmond has made a pointing device with a hotkey for the Windows 8 Start screen. In addition to bringing up the Start Menu, you can use it return to the desktop, all without having to hit the keyboard. While the Mobile Mouse has just the Start key and a scroll wheel, though, the bigger Comfort Mouse takes things a step further: the button there doubles as a capacitive surface you can swipe to toggle through open programs in Windows 8. If you swipe that strip the other way, you can also bring up a list of open applications running along the left-hand side of the screen. Note: the Comfort Mouse's Start button is located on the left, meaning it was clearly designed for righties. Or, you know, someone with a strong left pinky.

Some other differences: the Mobile Mouse requires a dongle, whereas the Comfort uses Bluetooth. Oh, and the Comfort has a more ergonomic shape, too, but you probably gathered that just by glancing at the name. Expect the Mobile version to go on sale first -- it'll hit shelves later this month for $30. The Comfort model will arrive in June, with a higher MSRP of $40. In the meantime, we've got some hands-on photos (heh) for you to check out.

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Bay Area app developer Smule has amassed an army of mobile instruments, but really, what fun are all those music makers without a little good old fashioned jamming? Today, the company's offering up the simply named Guitar, an app that lets you strum along to songs recorded through its equally straightforwardly named Sing. At present, the company has hand-picked a dozen or so singers, letting you play along (though expect that number to increase, as time goes on), becoming "the first pair of [Smule] apps that actually talk to each other," according to the company.

Using the app is pretty straightforward for anyone who's messed around with Guitar Hero and its ilk, letting you know when to strum via swipe through a dynamically scrolling layout. On more advanced modes, you can choose the chord you want to play, but in Easy, it'll just do it for you. You can pick a single string with a tap and add vibrato by shaking your iPhone / iPad. We got a preview of the app during a recent visit to the Smule office for the Engadget Show, back when it went under the (arguably superior) name "Strum." Check out video of that and the final version after the break.

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There have been calls for an iPad-native Mailbox app virtually from the get-go -- some of us want to get to inbox zero on a bigger screen, after all. The team has clearly been listening, as the free Mailbox 1.3 update now supports Apple's larger gadgets. While there isn't much mystery in the new version for anyone who has used both Mailbox and other iPad email clients before, power users should appreciate seeing full messages while they swipe away at their inbox. We're still waiting on Mailbox support for other platforms -- and services beyond Gmail, for that matter -- but iPad owners can get some satisfaction at the source link.

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Customers with Sky Broadband might find their speeds begin to crawl northward towards the end of the year. The broadcaster is paying Virgin Media's business arm £49 million ($74 million) for some of Richard Branson Liberty Global's deliciously fast fibre infrastructure. While there's no mention of BT, we wouldn't be surprised if this technological makeover was prompted by its corporate rival's recent assault on Sky's sporty golden goose.

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You might still be getting your thumbs around that Q10, or the waiting for that BlackBerry 10.1 update, but already some future tidbits for the platform have come to light. Michael Clewley, product manager at the firm, let slip that version 10.2 of the OS brings with it support for standard unicode emojis, multiple alarms and level 1 notifications (for email). With the 10.2 SDK said to be coming in June, you can expect the update to follow later in the year. Weren't sure what to do with BlackBerry Channels, yet? If you had added Clewley's (PIN C00014277) you'd have got the reveal straight from the man himself.

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