Next week's Rock Band 3 launch marks a giant step for the franchise, with the pro mode edging its gameplay closer to actual musicianship. The keyboards and drums are easier transitions to make, given what's essentially one-to-one mapping for notes and logical input solutions. But what about a guitar, arguably the genre's flagship instrument? We've seen and tried two solutions to the pro guitar input conundrum: the Squier Stratocaster, an actual guitar that's still not ready for primetime, and the Mad Catz Fender Mustang, a 102-button replica more reminiscent of peripheral than instrument. Still, with a mid-November release date, the latter's likely to be your only official option for pro guitar rocking this holiday. So, how does it fare? Read on to find out!

P.S. For all your other Rock Band 3 queries, check out Joystiq's exhaustive review!

A visual recap of the day's articles

Oct 21st 2010 | 49 Articles

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/joby-tempts-the-argonauts-with-switchback-headlamp-lantern/

12:00 am

10 Comments

Joby tempts the argonauts with Switchback headlamp / lantern

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/dell-xps-resurrected-with-nvidia-graphics-hd-webcams-and-jbl-au/

1:00 am

165 Comments

Dell XPS resurrected with NVIDIA graphics, HD webcams and JBL audio

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/htc-7-mozart-review/

12:21 am

195 Comments

HTC 7 Mozart review

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/marshall-headphones-joining-your-jcm-900-on-november-15/

1:41 am

54 Comments

Marshall Headphones joining your JCM 900 on November 15

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/tachyon-announces-720p-tachyon-xc-hd-helmet-cam-excites-us-with/

3:00 am

40 Comments

Tachyon announces 720p Tachyon XC HD helmet cam, excites us with a Picatinny rifle mount (video)

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/netflix-now-primarily-a-streaming-company-could-offer-dvd-les/

2:18 am

162 Comments

Netflix 'now primarily a streaming company,' could offer DVD-less plan this year

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/atandt-announces-pay-as-you-go-international-data-packages-for-lap/

4:01 am

43 Comments

AT&T announces pay-as-you-go international data packages for laptops

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/in-and-out-door-concept-keeps-you-from-pushing-when-you-should-pul/

3:30 am

104 Comments

In & Out Door concept keeps you from pushing when you should pull, vice-versa

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/slingplayer-for-windows-phone-7-demoed-coming-soon-video/

4:29 am

61 Comments

SlingPlayer for Windows Phone 7 demoed, coming soon (video)

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/eigenharp-controls-wifi-lamp-with-a-little-arduino-assistance-v/

5:25 am

14 Comments

Eigenharp controls WiFi lamp with a little Arduino assistance (video)

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/nokia-refines-development-stategy-adopts-html5-in-qt-and-ends-s/

6:31 am

207 Comments

Nokia ends talk of Symbian^4, adopts HTML5 in Qt framework

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/nokia-reports-improved-earnings-for-q3-2010-will-still-streaml/

6:26 am

82 Comments

Nokia reports improved earnings for Q3 2010, will still 'streamline' up to 1,800 employees out of a job

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/stephen-elop-first-meego-device-is-a-2011-event/

8:11 am

203 Comments

Stephen Elop: Nokia's first MeeGo device "is a 2011 event"

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/tomtom-maps-get-loaded-onto-htc-locations-promise-zero-wait-na/

7:52 am

36 Comments

TomTom maps get loaded onto HTC Locations, promise 'zero-wait navigation experience'

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/motorola-defy-makes-a-splash-on-t-mobile-this-november-3rd-for/

7:19 am

14 Comments

Motorola Defy makes a splash on T-Mobile this November 3rd for $99

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/atandt-clocks-up-2-6-million-net-new-wireless-subscribers-bigger/

9:07 am

93 Comments

AT&T clocks up 2.6 million net new wireless subscribers, bigger profits in Q3

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/nintendo-wii-remote-plus-is-just-39-gets-included-in-shiny-new/

8:41 am

76 Comments

Nintendo Wii Remote Plus is just $39, gets included in shiny new red bundle

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/first-all-robot-surgery-performed-at-mcgill-university/

10:06 am

99 Comments

First all-robot surgery performed at McGill University

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/winamp-comes-to-android-one-of-our-childhood-dreams-is-realized/

9:43 am

252 Comments

Winamp comes to Android, one of our childhood dreams is realized

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/itu-lays-down-law-wimax-2-lte-advanced-are-4g-everyone-else-i/

10:55 am

135 Comments

ITU lays down law: WiMAX 2, LTE-Advanced are 4G, everyone else is a buster

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/samsung-comes-clean-with-galaxy-s-froyo-upgrade-dates-all-carri/

10:31 am

199 Comments

Samsung comes clean with Galaxy S Froyo upgrade dates: all carriers in November

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/samsungs-new-syncmaster-monitors-displayport-16-10-tres-euro/

11:57 am

57 Comments

Samsung's new SyncMaster monitors: DisplayPort, 16:10, tres European

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/windows-7-moves-240-million-copies-in-its-first-year/

11:38 am

279 Comments

Windows 7 moves 240 million copies in its first year

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/lumigon-t1-with-icepower-amplifiers-officially-unveiled-to-arri/

12:59 pm

43 Comments

Lumigon T1 with ICEpower amplifiers officially unveiled, to arrive 'by the very end of this year'

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/remote-control-app-for-logitech-revue-hits-the-android-market/

12:40 pm

78 Comments

Remote control app for Logitech Revue hits the Android Market

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/psa-facetime-beta-endangers-your-apple-id-password-and-security/

12:18 pm

285 Comments

PSA: FaceTime beta endangers your Apple ID password and security questions

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/acers-liquid-metal-spotted-in-the-wild-chilling-with-two-myste/

2:07 pm

62 Comments

Acer's Liquid Metal spotted in the wild, chilling with two mystery friends

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/students-get-their-hands-on-microsofts-adaptive-keyboard-adapt/

1:44 pm

115 Comments

Students get their hands on Microsoft's Adaptive Keyboard, adapt it to their nefarious ways (video)

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/barnes-and-noble-nook-goes-on-sale-at-walmart-next-week/

1:21 pm

61 Comments

Barnes & Noble Nook goes on sale at Walmart next week

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/dell-marketing-makeover-simplifies-brands-kills-off-adamo-altog/

3:06 pm

129 Comments

Dell marketing makeover simplifies brands, kills off Adamo altogether

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/v-modas-metallic-vibrato-earbuds-get-kevlar-cable-in-line-ipho/

2:34 pm

41 Comments

V-Moda's metallic Vibrato earbuds get Kevlar cable, in-line iPhone remote

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/apples-mac-app-store-review-guidelines-posted-will-photoshop/

4:02 pm

566 Comments

Apple's Mac App Store Review Guidelines posted -- will Photoshop make it in?

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/sony-considers-incorporating-android-into-more-as-yet-unnamed/

3:37 pm

128 Comments

Sony considers incorporating Android into more (as yet unnamed) products

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/ge-introduces-hybrid-bulb-with-both-halogen-and-cfl-elements/

5:02 pm

92 Comments

GE introduces 'hybrid' bulb with both halogen and CFL elements, instant-on meets efficiency

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/samsung-galaxy-player-50-shown-off-in-lengthy-ad-already-on-sal/

4:36 pm

158 Comments

Samsung Galaxy Player 50 shown off in lengthy ad, already on sale in France

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/exclusive-mad-catz-cyborg-rat-9-review/

6:00 pm

109 Comments

Exclusive: Mad Catz Cyborg Rat 9 review

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/new-11-6-inch-macbook-air-ripped-to-shreds-exposing-proprietary/

5:40 pm

176 Comments

New 11.6-inch MacBook Air ripped to pieces, exposing proprietary parts

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/barnes-and-noble-prepping-new-nook-with-full-color-touchscreen/

5:20 pm

60 Comments

Barnes & Noble prepping new Nook with full color touchscreen?

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/blackberry-style-first-hands-on/

7:11 pm

124 Comments

BlackBerry Style first hands-on!

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/television-networks-block-google-tv-from-accessing-web-based-con/

7:01 pm

204 Comments

Television networks block Google TV from accessing web-based content

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/live-from-the-engadget-reader-meetup-in-nyc/

6:40 pm

111 Comments

Live from the Engadget reader meetup in NYC

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/playstation-move-shipped-one-million-units-its-first-month-in-th/

6:22 pm

107 Comments

PlayStation Move shipped one million units its first month in the Americas

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/official-twitter-app-for-windows-phone-7-goes-live/

8:13 pm

71 Comments

Official Twitter app for Windows Phone 7 goes live

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/hp-slate-500-unicorns-its-way-into-e-tailers-with-product-code/

8:05 pm

46 Comments

HP Slate 500 unicorns its way into e-tailers with product code, leaked documents

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/boeing-installs-50mbps-exconnect-broadband-on-737/

7:41 pm

24 Comments

Boeing installs 50Mbps eXConnect broadband on 737

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/hp-slate-finally-finally-official-rings-up-at-799/

8:19 pm

523 Comments

HP Slate 500 finally (finally!) official, rings up at $799

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/angelbirds-pcie-ssd-solution-brings-breakneck-speeds-achievabl/

9:57 pm

19 Comments

AngelBird's PCIe SSD solution brings breakneck speeds, achievable prices, 'incremental awesomeness'

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/atheros-hybrid-system-merges-wifi-with-powerline-networking-in-o/

9:20 pm

14 Comments

Atheros Hybrid system merges WiFi with powerline networking in one tidy bundle

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/21/ask-engadget-best-30-inch-lcd-monitor-out-there/

11:00 pm

18 Comments

Ask Engadget: best 30-inch LCD monitor out there?

Be (Original)

• HP Slate 500 finally (finally!) official, rings up at $799
• HTC 7 Mozart review
• Exclusive: Mad Catz Cyborg Rat 9 review
• BlackBerry Style first hands-on!

Top stories on Engadget

• Stephen Elop: Nokia's first MeeGo device "is a 2011 event"
  
• Nokia ends talk of Symbian^4, adopts HTML5 in Qt framework
• Netflix 'now primarily a streaming company,' could offer DVD-less plan this year
• Television networks block Google TV from accessing web-based content

Wish you were here

• Live from the Engadget reader meetup in NYC

AMD's Radeon HD 6870 and HD 6850 graphics cards are here, but they might not be what you expect -- though alphanumerics suggest they'd succeed the lauded Radeon HD 5870 and 5850, these new "Bart" chips are actually a pair of solid plays for the PC gaming mainstream. $180 buys you a Radeon HD 6850 with 960 stream processors, a 775MHz core clock and 1GB of GDDR5 memory at a 1GHz effective rate, and $240 nets the HD 6870 with 1120 stream processors and 900MHz / 1,050 MHz clocks respectively. On paper that puts them a good bit behind the finest, but a collection of reviews show they can keep up with the pack, as the 6870 consistently manages to surpass the framerates possible with NVIDIA's $200 GeForce GTX 460, and even the cheaper 6850 can do the same in certain games. Some reports indicate they run a good bit hotter than their predecessors, however, so despite the bevy of ports they're probably not right for your next HTPC. Hit up the reviews below for some promising benchmarks, and if you aren't turned away by AMD's lipsticking of the pig, you'll find ten varieties already for sale at our source link. PR after the break.

Update: NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 460 768MB now sells for $170, so there's definitely still some mid-range muscle in the green camp.

Read - AnandTech
Read (1), (2) - Guru3D
Read - HardOCP
Read (1), (2) - Bit-tech
Read - PC Perspective
Read - Legit Reviews
Read - Techgage
Read (1), (2) - TweakTown
Read - Hexus
Read (1), (2) - TechPowerUp

We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Edward, who isn't afraid of making us all envious by asking for tips on a monstrous monitor. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

Hey, I run a small graphic design business in South Yorkshire, UK. Currently we use HP's LP2475w as our workstation monitors, and are looking for something newer. Since I hate to downgrade electrical stuff, the only logical step would be to 30-inch monitors. They need to have an HDMI input as well as DVI since we've a VAIO Z in the office whose only output is HDMI. The other important factors are accurate color (so I guess an IPS panel) without ridiculous pricing. I'm looking at £1,500 ($2,400) as the absolute maximum. Currently I'm looking at the HP ZR30W and the Dell 3008WFP, what would your readers recommend?

The 30-inch monitor space has become increasingly competitive over the past couple of years, and your options now are more numerous than ever. So, what 30-incher are you reading this right now on? Let 'em know in comments below!

You may be able to watch The Office on your Google TV, but perhaps not on demand -- ABC, CBS and NBC are barring Sony and Logitech's web-infused TVs and set-top-boxes from accessing full episodes of streaming video content. The Wall Street Journal reports that all three networks have confirmed the ban, and that Fox hasn't yet reached a decision on whether it will ban Google TV as well. For its part, Google says that it's "ultimately the content owners' choice to restrict their fans from accessing their content on the platform," so don't expect the search company to pitch in, unless it can work out some premium arrangements for all parties involved. This is the part where we'd normally direct you to the simple browser tweak that made Hulu accessible when it pulled the very same stunt, but alas, we're finding Hulu too is once again blocked.

Update: Reuters reports that Google is "actively negotiating" with the three networks after all.

PCIe SSD solutions tend to be two things: stupidly fast and stupidly expensive. With read performance of up to 1GB/s and writes happening at up to 900MB/s the Angelbird Wings solution certainly has the speed. And, at a starting price of $239 for a 16GB model, the pricing isn't too bad -- for this sort of setup, anyway. What you're getting for that money is an expandable PCIe controller board with slots for up to four SSDs of 120GB in size, each offering SandForce 1200 controllers. With one board you'll get pedestrian read and write speeds of just under 300MB/s. But, with each new drive you basically multiply that, with the maximum figures quoted above coming with four. Interestingly, the controller comes with its own onboard Linux flavor called Virtue, a full UI that you can boot directly into and get all your RAID ducks in a row. Full cost for a fully kitted out system with four boards? $1399, which is hardly cheap for a mere 500GB or so of storage, but is a solid price for 1GB/s performance.

Surprise of surprises! On the day that Europeans finally got to dig into the Windows Phone 7 cake in earnest, Twitter's official app for the hot new platform has also gone live. We've downloaded it to our own WP7 device and are having a play around with it now. If you need a refresher as to what it looks like, check out the video after the break.

Update: Okay, we can neither log in nor get signed up at present, though others have clearly achieved the feat already. Twitter.com itself keeps alternating between its new and old versions, so we suspect there's quite a bit of work going on behind the scenes at present. To answer your queries, loading time from the live tile menu to the top tweets page above is approximately three seconds, while scrolling is basically identical to the perfection available on WP7's own apps. Swiping laterally gets you into Trends, Suggested, and Nearby categories which take a couple of moments to load up their tweets, but otherwise match the performance.

Exiting to the live tile menu throws you out of whatever you were doing and re-entering the app -- as is par for the Windows Phone 7 course right now -- means starting from scratch. The only way you can save you state is by locking the phone, which takes a second or two to resume when unlocked and returns you to the exact point you were at. Great, now let us in, Twitter!

Hold up, reader David Gordon points out that you can hit the live tile menu via the Windows/Start key and then return to Twitter through the Back button, yay, that works too.

Update 2: There are still errors being thrown up, but we finally got ourselves logged in. Well, it looks just like the vid promised it would and the app itself is working flawlessly, there are no processing delays that we can see. Oh, and there's a landscape mode. Our only bugbear is that there's no differentiation between your own tweets and those of your friends. Ah well, check out the gallery below.

Network routers are increasingly becoming our portals to the world, and the latest model from Atheros, the Hybrid Router, is making that doorway wider than ever. Naturally it supports 802.11 WiFi and Ethernet, just like any good bit of networking kit, but it also adds in HomePlug AV powerline networking. By just plugging the thing's AC adapter into the wall you're extending your network signal throughout your abode and, by plugging in one of the company's Ethernet or WiFi adapters, you can extend your access to places that even microwaves fear to tread. Atheros hasn't announced pricing for the Hybrid Router or either the wired or wireless powerline range extenders, but all are said to be shipping before the end of the year, so we'll all be finding out soon enough.

Nope, you're not dreaming, but feel free to pinch yourself, rub your eyes or take a cold shower! You've read right -- the HP Slate is finally official, and after all the teasing, back and forth, and (very recent) leaks, the Atom-powered, Windows 7 Slate will finally see the light of day -- though in a different way than originally intended. While the first videos released by HP may have made it seem like it would be for consumers, HP's tactfully changed its tune (don't forget it's got Palm / WebOS tablets on the way) and is now aiming the Slate at the enterprise and business market. Still, it will be available on HP's site for $799 to anyone who wishes to purchase one.

So, what does $800 of your hard earned cash buy you? Well, in addition to the dock and case, which are included in the box, the tablet packs pretty much everything we'd heard over the last year -- it's powered by a 1.86GHz Intel Atom Z540 processor, 2GB of RAM, 64GB SSD and packs Broadcom's Crystal HD accelerator for handling 1080p video. (The included dock has an HDMI-out port if you want to hook it up to the big screen.) Obviously, the 8.9-inch capacitive touch Slate runs Windows 7 Professional, but it's got a Wacom active digitizer for taking notes, which certainly sets it apart from the other Win 7 tablets we've seen over the last couple of weeks. Oh, and don't forget its front facing VGA cam and 3 megapixel camera on its back. We got a chance to finally grope the tablet earlier this week, so hit the break for our early impressions and a short video.

We'd heard the HP Slate finally had a date with destiny (and corporate pocketbooks) sometime this fall, and it's looking like the device is nigh -- a number of boutique online retailers are taking orders for an HP Slate 500, which purportedly comes with an Intel Atom Z540 CPU, 8.9-inch WSVGA LED-backlit screen, 2GB of DDR2 memory, a 64GB solid state drive, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, a webcam, a two-cell battery and Windows 7 Professional installed, all for somewhere around the vicinity of $800 to $900. What's more, CNET's just stumbled upon a document that apparently details the same, plus an HP Slate Digital Pen (no doubt for those who abhor sausages) and a rear-facing 3 megapixel camera. We'd chalk up the CNET leaks to old prototype documentation and the e-tailer product listings to wishful thinking if either appeared on their own, but together we have to imagine there's some sort of wind a' blowing.

Cathay Pacific has already promised that it would bring 50Mbps in-flight broadband to some of its fleet by 2012, but it looks like Boeing has beat it to the punch to become the first to actually take the service to the skies. The company has just announced the first certification and installation of Panasonic Avionics' eXConnect in-flight internet service in one of its Boeing Business Jet 737 aircraft, which will initially be used by Panasonic itself for ongoing testing and demonstrations. That's the same system that will be used by Cathay Pacific, and consists a fuselage-mounted antenna that communicates with a network of satellites to deliver speeds of up to 50Mbps, or about a hundred times faster than most competing in-flight WiFi. Unfortunately, there's still no word on any further expansion to commercial aircraft, so Cathay Pacific may well still wind up being the first in that respect. Full press release is after the break.

Yes, folks, it's true: Engadget's capable of scooping itself at its own reader meetup, as evidenced by the BlackBerry Style we just checked out at RIM's booth here. The phone is pretty much what you'd expect from what you've seen in the shots so far, essentially a clamshell riff on the Curve line; to that end, we'd argue that it feels a little cheaper than your average Bold, but it still seems to be a marked improvement from the Pearl flips of days gone by -- and at $99 on contract, we think that's exactly the market they were likely going for. Interestingly, the keyboard looks more like a Bold component than a Curve one... and depending on the faction of BlackBerry users you fall into, that's either a very good or a very bad thing. Like the old Pearl flips, the Style's definitely large and in charge, boasting dimensions barely smaller than the Bold -- when closed! Check out the gallery below.

We've got some hard numbers from Sony on how the PlayStation Move is doing in the US, and it's really not that bad. Sony says it's shipped more than one million units of Move (which particular configuration is unclear) in North and Latin America. If you add in the 1.5 million Sony said it had already sold in Europe a couple of weeks ago, and Sony's probably hovering close to the 3 million mark as of right now. Not bad for an add-on peripheral, and Sony itself says it sees the Move as more of a word-of-mouth grower, but we'll see how much momentum Kinect gets out of the gate: Microsoft certainly plans on pushing it.

In a world full of the shapely blobs we call computer mice, the Cyborg Rat stands out. It's skeletal, metallic, and almost completely asymetrical. Though most mice are one-size-fit-few, the Rat lets you transform the hardware itself to fit the shape of your hand. It's got two scroll wheels and a special button that lowers DPI while it's held -- and this new Rat 9, due out November, is completely wireless as well. Whereas Razer, Microsoft and Logitech all built their premium wireless gaming mice from scratch -- and with cord-based charging in mind -- the Rat 9 instead integrates a hot-swappable battery pack and a 2.4GHz radio into the same modular design. Is it a half-baked attempt at wireless bliss, or do we have a new king of mice? Find out after the break in our full review.

The entire world saw the 13-inch MacBook Air exposed to the elements before it was announced on stage, but its 11.6-inch younger brother is just now getting the teardown treatment. iFixit tore the tiny machine asunder, and found even more miniature battery packs nestled in its 0.68-inch-thick frame. Like Apple's previous Air, the components here are proprietary, and the 2GB memory module's actually soldered to the board -- some tradeoffs had to be made for miniaturization, we suppose, and we can't deny the result is a beautiful machine inside and out. On the plus side, the Toshiba solid state drive seems to be modular, so there's some modest upgrade potential there if you can find a supplier of the mini-SATA boards. Still, kids -- don't try this at home.

Yeah, the Nook already has one color screen, but its primary display is depressingly monochrome. Now there's word on the street, from a reliable source of CNET's, that Barnes & Noble will be bringing a full-color, Android-based, touchscreen Nook to its event next Tuesday. That sure sounds a whole lot like a full fledged Android tablet, which would be quite a departure for Barnes & Noble -- sure, the Nook is Android-based, but it hardly acts like it currently. Still, there's a smell of Android tablets in the air, and it wouldn't be horribly surprising to see B&N move in this direction. CNET's tipster says the device will be called the Nook Color, and retail for $249. That's pretty low for a 7-inch touchscreen LCD device, but perhaps (hopefully) B&N has its eye on an alternative tech like Mirasol or Pixel Qi? Either way, the existing Nook will apparently continue to be sold as a lower-end version, so e-ink aficionados have no need to throw their hands up in despair just yet. Stay tuned!

We're pretty okay with waiting the second or so it takes a typical CFL to light up, but sometimes, when we're checking for monsters in closets and other inconspicuous places, it'd be nice if things were a little more expedient. For those times (and for generally impatient people) GE is introducing its Hybrid Halogen-CFL bulb. It's basically a typical CFL unit, but look closely inside those coils and you'll spot a wee halogen bulb peeking out. It's like two bulbs in one, the halogen unit powering on almost instantaneously then fading off once the CFL element gets itself all riled up. We're wondering how well the output from the two elements match, whether you'd be able to notice the transition, but we're even more curious about the cost. GE says we'll have to wait a few months to learn that bit of info, and the same holds true if you're looking for a release date more specific than "2011." Hopefully it isn't too late in the year, as LED bulbs are getting cheaper by the minute.