New iPod Touch arrives, PETA against Pokemon features

                Welcome to another weeks of rumors, new phones, and odd news.  This week, Nokia chooses a carrier for the Lumia 920, the iPod Touch launches, and PETA launches a campaign against Pokémon!

                The new iPod Touch seems to be shipping its pre-orders to customers before giving an official release date.  These new iPods should arrive around October 15^th.  The new iPod Nano’s still have no release date and have not shipped.

                An analyst has reported that a new BlackBerry 10 device will not release until March of 2013.  RIM was suggesting a January release, but it looks like it will be a while until the new phones release.  RIM has had phone troubles for a long time and BlackBerry 10 is its last hope to survive.

                The highly anticipated Nokia Lumia 920 will release exclusively with AT&T-much like the Lumia 900 did.  The phone is reported to have a November release date.  It will be running Windows Phone 8.

                Speaking of Windows Phone 8, AT&T will reportedly offer pre-orders for its Windows Phones- the HTC 8X and Nokia Lumia 920.  It will also hold pre-orders for its Windows 8 and Windows RT devices- the Samsung Ativ Smart PC and Asus Vivo Tab RT.

                In the weirdest news, PETA, the animal rights group, is going after Nintendo’s Pokémon series for animal abuse.  PETA says that even though Pokémon are virtual animals, they are still very real.  A Pokémon in a Pokéball is the same as an elephant chained up in a cage.  PETA has created a spoof of the game called Pokémon Black and Blue: Gotta Free ‘Em All on its website. 

                This is not the first time PETA has attacked Nintendo.  A few months ago they attacked Mario for the tanooki animal skin that Mario uses to fly.

                Windows Phone 8 might finally have a device for Verizon customers.  A leaked image of the Nokia Lumia 820, renamed the Nokia Atlas will sell as a mid-range phone for Verizon sometime after October 29^th.

                Lastly, a Samsung executive let slip that a Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini is coming soon.  It will have a 4-inch screen to directly compete with the iPhone 5.

                That’s it for the week, I hope everyone has a fun and safe fall break! Let’s hope the weather finally cools down.

                Questions of the week:  Are you interested in a Windows Phone 8 handset? Post your answers on http://vsuspectech.blogspot.com/ or email at smsetser@valdosta.edu