An alleged leak of fourth-gen iPhone components claims to tell us two things about Apple's next creation. One, it's taller. Two, part of its surface is "reflective."

What iResQ claims to be the next iPhone case sits on the right in our lead shot, alongside the iPhone 3GS' front assembly.

It's 1/4 of an inch taller. Boom.
(iPhone 3G, iPhone 3Gs, potential iPhone 4G)

Plus, the top lip of the case has a "reflective, mirror-like surface," which iResQ assumes is a rearrangement of the iPhone's proximity sensor (the component that notices when your face is near the phone).

No component leak is all that reliable unto itself, given that it's not very difficult to manufacture a knockoff plastic case. Still, the idea of a slightly taller iPhone? Fine with me, assuming the extra footprint is put to good use. (But even if it wasn't, would any of us notice this slight difference?) [iResQ via MacRumors]

An alleged leak of fourth-gen iPhone components claims to tell us two things about Apple's next creation. One, it's taller. Two, part of its surface is "reflective."

What iResQ claims to be the next iPhone case sits on the right in our lead shot, alongside the iPhone 3GS' front assembly.

It's 1/4 of an inch taller. Boom.
(iPhone 3G, iPhone 3Gs, potential iPhone 4G)

Plus, the top lip of the case has a "reflective, mirror-like surface," which iResQ assumes is a rearrangement of the iPhone's proximity sensor (the component that notices when your face is near the phone).

No component leak is all that reliable unto itself, given that it's not very difficult to manufacture a knockoff plastic case. Still, the idea of a slightly taller iPhone? Fine with me, assuming the extra footprint is put to good use. (But even if it wasn't, would any of us notice this slight difference?) [iResQ via MacRumors]

Hey, that Nook reader thing? From Barnes & Noble? You can actually buy one now. At least, starting this week. Probably! You can check here starting Wed. to see if your local store's got it.

BTW, I do know for a fact they've shipped at least two, since that's how many I've seen in the wild.

Barnes & Noble Launches Exclusive In-Store Content and Promotions

Barnes & Noble, Inc., the world's largest bookseller, announced that its popular nook eBook reader — the ultimate gift for book lovers — is in stock online at nook.com and will be rolling out in the majority of Barnes & Noble stores beginning mid-week, just in time for Valentine's Day. While in-store, nook customers will enjoy exclusive holiday-themed online content, kicking off this month.

Barnes & Noble quickly sold out of nook stock online over the holidays due to unprecedented customer demand. Since then the company has ramped up production and is shipping stock to the majority of its stores, beginning this week. Customers can visit the Barnes & Noble nook In-Store Locator at www.bn.com/nook/instore, updated daily beginning February 10, to find local stores with devices in-stock.

Enhanced in-store connectivity allows nook customers to seamlessly access fast, free Wi-Fi in Barnes & Noble stores. There, they can browse the extensive library of more than a million eBooks, magazines and newspapers and enjoy exclusive "More In Store" content and promotional offers, officially launching in February, which include:

— A short story by bestselling favorite Adriana Trigiani featuring characters from her newest blockbuster, Brava, Valentine.

— A Valentine's Day recipe for red velvet cupcakes from Anne Byrn, the Cake Mix Doctor.

— "Read Between the Wines," a regular feature by renowned wine expert Kevin Zraly, guides readers and wine lovers through the mystery of pairing books with the perfect vintage.

"nook is the perfect Valentine's Day gift for anyone who loves reading. Demand for nook continues to be very high, and we're pleased our customers will be able to try and buy nook in our stores and online and enjoy it in time for the holiday," said William J. Lynch, President of Barnes & Noble.com. "In Barnes & Noble stores, nook owners will enjoy exciting nook-only content from their favorite authors and other valuable offers, along with fast and free in-store Wi-Fi, which nook customers have been accessing in droves over the last few weeks."

New Barnes & Noble in-store content will be updated weekly and available for a four-week period. nook users can stay apprised of upcoming exclusive More In Store content at www.bn.com/nook/moreinstore. Also in February, nook users in Barnes & Noble stores can enjoy 10 percent off any CD. nook customers need only show the special offer on their nook to the cashier to redeem.

Barnes & Noble has continued to optimize nook software for an improved reading experience with the newly updated nook v1.2. Automatic over the air (OTA) updates, which do not require any action from nook customers, are underway and will be conducted seamlessly through this week. nook customers currently using the previous version can also immediately download v1.2 at www.nook.com/support, where additional update and technical support information is available.

nook marries innovative technology and sleek minimalist design with access to the Barnes & Noble's digital store of over one million eBooks, newspapers and magazines. nook's color touch screen for navigation along with a best-in-class E Ink display offer an immersive, enjoyable e-reading experience. It offers both 3G wireless and Wi-Fi access and is the first to offer digital lending for a wide selection of eBooks through its LendMe(TM) technology.

To learn more and experience nook, visit www.nook.com. Follow our eBooks and other updates on www.bn.com/twitter. To learn more about the free Barnes & Noble eReader software and Barnes & Noble eBookstore apps, visit www.barnesandnoble.com/ebooks.

[Barnes & Noble]

Remember all those clever iPhone peripherals that we were supposed to see with firmware 3.0? Well ZoomIt is among the first. It's an SD card reader for the iPhone and iPod touch.

Used in conjunction with the ZoomIt app, the dongle connects through the iPhone's dock connector to load photos, music and miscellaneous files (like PowerPoint, PDF and anything else supported by iPhone OS) from an SD card.

If nothing else, it's a handy way to extend your iPhone's storage in a pinch, or simply backup your photos on vacation without lugging around a laptop (which is my particular reason for excitement here). You can pre-order the ZoomIt for $50 now. It'll actually be available this April. [ZoomIt via iLounge]

After buying that little multitouch company Touchco last week and merging it with Lab126—their Kindle division—Amazon's now got job listings looking for a Hardware Display manager that knows LCDs, and a Wi-Fi specialist. You do the math. [Bits]

Well, well, well. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal today, Apple management is going to remain "nimble" in iPad pricing if sales start off slow. Hey, wait a minute—are you thinking what I'm thinking?

The scoop originates from a Credit Suisse analyst, who apparently met with Apple executives recently to discuss all things tablet. In addition to the execs pitching how the iPad wouldn't cannibalize Apple's other product lines, they outright stated that they'll adjust pricing if they have to:

"While it remains to be seen how much traction the iPad gets initially, management noted that it will remain nimble (pricing could change if the company is not attracting as many customers as anticipated)."

This actually isn't all that surprising, if you think back to the iPhone's launch in 2007 and the dramatic $200 price cut that followed just a few months later. That caused sales to surge 200% and garnered no small amount of publicity for the new device.

Bottom line: I don't exactly have $500 to $830 burning a hole in my pocket to spend on a first-gen device. So spread the word! And for goodness sake, stay strong and don't buy an iPad. Yet. [WSJ]

Since not everyone has the space and pesos to build a full-size home theater, here's an option that only requires an iPhone and the space of a shoe box. Which—in New York—means half of your apartment. [Thanks Gary!]

HTC's had some faulty plumbing lately: first pics of the Incredible leak over the weekend, and now we've got our first look at the HTC Legend in the wild—complete with an ooo-shiny aluminum back.

The design—particularly the aluminum casing and optical sensor trackpad—jives with what we'd heard recently, as does the apparent HTC Sense interface.

It's a different look for HTC, but I'd say not an unwelcome one. It's especially comforting to know we're not looking at a slew of brown-backed *cough* Incredible *cough* handsets. If the rest of the rumored specs—inclduing a 5.0-megapixel with LED flash, a 600MHz Qualcomm MSM7227 processor, and 512MB of internal memory—pan out, this looks like a nice step up from the Hero. Hopefully we'll find out for sure at the Mobile World Congress next week. [Engadget]

Way back in '72, this Gesundheit Radio was created by an "experimental research group" at Texas Instruments. Or at least, that's what student James Chambers will tell you, who created the back-story for added "color" to his sneezing radio.

Yes, sneezing. As the questionable story goes, the radio is forced to sneeze every six months in order to protect the microprocessors from dust. Users can manually override the bi-annual sneeze, with a SNZ button being added for those days when you really don't have time to give the feather duster a work-out.

The radio is on display at the Work In Progress exhibition at the Royal Collage of Art in London, though if you can't get down there to check it out in person, hit up the video below to see the radio "sneezing," with the dust being expelled (visually) through the front. [James Chambers via We Make Money Not Art via Slashgear]

Gesundheit Radio from James Chambers on Vimeo.

We love the idea of holographic storage. It's just so Star Trekish. But at $18,000 per drive, and $180 per 300GB disc, it's really not that exciting, which is probably why InPhase has folded. [The Register]