Intel this week offered a preview of platforms using its Core i7 Extreme Edition processor. Although the company is aiming the processor heavily at the gaming market, analysts said there are also clear business applications for the processor.

Code-named Gulftown, the i7-980X Extreme Edition processor is the industry’s first 32nm, six-core processor with 12 computing threads. Intel introduced the i7 family last September with its exclusive Turbo Boost technology and Hyper-Threading Technology.

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Eager to be the first on your block with an iPad? Apple started taking orders for the tablets on Friday. Wi-Fi models running from $499 to $699 will be available on April 3; 3G models, costing $629 to $829, won’t be available until late April.

Along with the advance orders, Apple released some details on what’s expected to be a key app for the new device — e-books. Promoting the iBooks feature of the iPad, Apple’s web site explains, “iBooks works with VoiceOver, the screen reader in iPad, so it can read you the contents of any page. Even with all these extras, reading is so natural on iPad, the technology seems to disappear.”

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What’s likely to be the hottest tech trend at this weekend’s trendy South by Southwest Interactive in Austin, the powwow that has become a launch pad for the coolest, hippest new technology? Location, location, location.

The conference is shaping up to be a coming-out party for Foursquare, an application that lets people flag where they are — and for the entire category of fledgling geo-location services. A bumper crop of services, notably Gowalla, Brightkite, Loopt and Where.com, are being embraced by smartphone owners to socialize and play games.

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Microsoft’s Xbox 360 video-game console moved to the top of the U.S. market in February. The software giant’s console had been number two behind the Nintendo Wii for nearly three years.

The popularity of the new BioShock 2 game may have been behind Microsoft’s sales of 422,000 Xbox 360s in February, an eight percent increase from a year earlier, according to NPD Group. Nintendo sold 397,900 Wiis and Sony sold 360,100 PlayStation 3 consoles in February.

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Microsoft’s Xbox 360 video-game console moved to the top of the U.S. market in February. The software giant’s console had been number two behind the Nintendo Wii for nearly three years.

The popularity of the new BioShock 2 game may have been behind Microsoft’s sales of 422,000 Xbox 360s in February, an eight percent increase from a year earlier, according to NPD Group. Nintendo sold 397,900 Wiis and Sony sold 360,100 PlayStation 3 consoles in February.

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With the e-book industry expected to explode into a multibillion-dollar business in the next three years, Barnes & Noble wants to open a new chapter in sales by making sure its products are available on Apple’s iPad. The retail giant on Thursday confirmed reports that it is preparing an iPad application in time for the anticipated April 3 release.

Digital Library Preserved

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You’re standing on a street corner and remember that you need to pick up a video game for your sister’s birthday. On your smartphone, you search Google and tap on the “in stock nearby” link next to the blue dots that show up for some of the search results. Google then shows you which local retailers have the game in stock.

That buying omniscience, where your mobile device can tell you whether what you want is nearby, was announced Thursday by the search giant.

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The Federal Communications Commission unveiled three digital tools Thursday that will enable consumers, businesses, schools and other organizations to test the real-world performance of their fixed and mobile broadband connections and help identify gaps in the nation’s broadband coverage. The tools include downloadable applications for mobile devices based on Google’s Android platform and Apple’s iPhone OS.

With the launch of the testing apps, the commission’s goal is to empower consumers, promote innovation and investment, and encourage competition by fostering transparency, noted FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.

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Apple is now taking pre-orders for its much-anticipated iPad tablet device. Apple started selling the various versions of the devices in the Apple Store at 8:30 a.m. Friday, Eastern time.

The devices will begin shipping in April, with Wi-Fi versions promised for April 3, or April 5 for customers who don’t have Saturday delivery. The Wi-Fi plus 3G model will not ship until late April. Apple is offering free shipping to customers who pre-order the iPad.

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Version 4.0 of the operating system for Apple’s iPhone, iPod touch, and the forthcoming iPad will represent a major overhaul of the software and will feature a “full-on solution” to one long-standing gripe about Apple’s devices — their inability to multitask.

At least that is the latest rumor making the rounds, as reported by the AppleInsider blog. The site attributes the report to “people with a proven track record” in predicting Apple’s next moves.

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Verizon Wireless hopes to debut its first 4G smartphone in the middle of next year, months earlier than planned, a company executive revealed Wednesday. The new handset will debut about three to six months after its Long-Term Evolution network launches, Verizon Wireless CTO Anthony Melone told The Wall Street Journal.

That timetable suggests Verizon sees 4G as a significant way to outpace its leading rival, AT&T.

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In a move to shake up the online gaming industry, OnLive has announced PC and Mac versions of its on-demand, instant-play games will roll out in June during the E3 2010 show. Here’s the rub: Gamers don’t have to buy a console, and they can get broadband speeds.

OnLive delivers games to HDTVs over an Internet connection via a small browser plug-in for PCs and OnLive’s MicroConsole TV Adapter, which will roll out later this year. The company is billing its game service as a way to find, purchase or rent video games from publishers like Electronic Arts, Ubisoft 2K Games, THQ and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

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U.S. regulators are reportedly digging deeper into Google’s planned AdMob acquisition. The Federal Trade Commission is asking for sworn statements from the search giant’s competitors and advertisers in what could signal plans to hold up the merger. The news comes as part of a wave of government scrutiny against the maturing company.

According to Bloomberg News, the FTC is seeking to learn whether Google’s proposed purchase of the mobile-ad technology provider would lessen competition in the market for Internet advertising on mobile phones. The FTC couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

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Opera Software launched an Android version of the company’s Opera Mini 5 mobile browser Thursday that promises to significantly improve page loading and speed on compatible smartphones. The beta release continues the company’s campaign to increase the visibility of its browser on a global basis.

Opera Mini 5 works in tandem with Opera’s servers to compress web-page content up to 90 percent before the data is sent to mobile phones, noted Opera Vice President Dag Olav Norem. “Opera Mini will give Android users fast and cost-efficient access to their favorite web sites and services,” he said.

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Move over, Wii. On Wednesday, Sony Computer Entertainment announced that its PlayStation 3 Move motion-based controller will launch in the fall. The controller has been discussed by Sony for some time, and was initially expected to be released this spring.

Reportedly, the delay gives third-party developers more time to create game titles using Move’s capabilities. Sony said 36 developers and publishers are supporting the platform, and it expects more than 20 Move-related games to be released in its 2010 fiscal year.

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