HARD TECHNOLOGY GROUP HTG NEWS TIPS

We guessed Samsung wouldn't be far behind LG in terms of its curved OLED's European debut, and we were right. Starting this Wednesday, if you're in Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium or Italy you'll be able to bring home a "flawless" screen for a mere €7,999 (around $10,697) -- a full grand less than LG's similarly-sized not-flat display. We've been wondering when we'd see the tech giants sparring again; thanks for not making us wait very long, Samsung. Source: ENGADGET

It peeked its head out just a day ago by way of a Korean back-to-school catalog, and now Samsung's ready to let its kid-friendly cat out of the bag. The Galaxy Tab 3 Kids is, as the name implies, aimed at ever more tech savvy young ones, featuring a child-friendly skinned Android 4.1 and a slew of educational apps, games, e-books and the like -- in fact, the more we hear about it, the more we think of the XO Tablet. Over on the hardware side, there's a seven-inch 1024 x 600 display, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, front and rear facing cameras and 8GB of internal storage, expandable via a microSD slot. It's also got a rugged frame for clumsy little hands. The Tab is coming to Korea next month, with availability following in the US, UK, Europe, China and Africa. No word yet on pricing. Source: ENGADGET

Clue's in the headline, really. Fresh from tours of the UK and Canada, Kickstarter is ready to land in Australia and New Zealand. The move will enable domestic pitches from Aussie and Kiwi inventors looking for your patronage -- not to mention the odd plea for cash from an established company that feels no shame. The site is preparing for the launch with some training events in Sydney and Melbourne on the 1st and 2nd of September ahead of a yet-to-be-confirmed start date. Notice how we got through that whole post without trotting out any tired stereotypes of shrimps, barbies or Harold Bishop? We thought you'd be proud. Source: ENGADGET

We caught the first Windows 8.1 (aka Blue) news back in March, and after several betas and a preview, it's been bundled off to manufacturers. That's a mere five months from alpha code to gold master, a feat that Microsoft trumpeted as "an unparalleled level of collaboration" between customers and Windows product teams. Now, manufacturers will be able to ramp up their production lines with the new version in time for the holidays, as Redmond emphasized in its Blogging Windows post. Current Windows 8 owners will get the update for free, but all end users will have to hang on until the official October 18th release date. With a month and change left, though, it looks like all the ducks are in a row to herald the return of the tech world's most infamous button. Source: ENGADGET

Nokia's rumored Windows RT tablet is supposedly nearing launch, and The Verge claims to have more details of the slate beyond those tidbits that surfaced at Digi-Wo last month. Nicknamed Sirius, the finished design is believed to resemble a Lumia phone and weigh significantly less than the current iPad. Despite packing a Snapdragon 800, an outdoor-ready 1080p screen and LTE, the tablet would last a healthy 10 hours on battery. It would also include both 6-megapixel rear and 2-megapixel front cameras, and Nokia may complement the previously mentioned 32GB of storage with a microSD card slot. Pricing would be competitive with the iPad, according to tipsters. While there's no way to verify the new rumors, the Sirius may launch at a September 26th event; if it's real, we'll find out soon enough. Source: ENGADGET

The buzz surrounding Sony's Honami smartphone is reaching a fever pitch, and Sony itself is finally joining in with a new teaser image for the device. The official shot only confirms the presence of a G-branded camera lens and an LED flash. However, it coincides with a new batch of unofficial photos on Digi-Wo that show the Honami in white at a Sony event. While there's nothing new in the pictures beyond the color, it's clear that the Android flagship is nearing its debut. The company isn't mentioning any launch details itself. However, we won't be surprised if the new Xperia appears at IFA next week. Source: ENGADGET

Google+ may not be the premier destination for photo sharing, but its devotees know just how wonderful Party Mode's collaborative albums are. Facebook is bringing a little bit of that magic to its much more popular platform through shared photo albums. The feature, which was built during a company hackathon, allows up to 50 people to contribute to a single album and upload up to 200 pictures each. To ensure that the albums don't become a chaotic mess, only the creator can alter the privacy settings of the album (public, friends of contributors and contributors only) and only he or she can modify or delete photos at will. Contributors will only be able to edit the images they themselves have uploaded. The tool is still very much in the early stages of development, and creators Bob Baldwin and Fred Zhao are already planning for the future. The upload cap of 200 pictures will likely be lifted, the duo told Mashable, and soon the ability to create shared albums should be coming ...