Apple executives have hinted that an early price drop for the $500-and-up iPad may be in the works. A Credit Suisse analyst who reportedly met with Apple executives learned that Apple may slash the price of the iPad if demand for the new device is low.

For eager iPad early adopters that could turn out to be a big iBummer, but then again, the news of an iPad price drop should not be coming as a shock. Most technology companies have a history of screwing over their first batch of customers with price cuts and early upgrades, and Apple is no exception. In fact, Apple was behind one of the most famous early adopter scandals of all time.

After a long wait and gobs of frustration, Barnes & Noble's Nook e-book reader is finally available. Online stock of the $259 e-reader disappeared over the holiday season as consumers sopped up the much-anticipated device that was hailed as strong competition against the current king of the heap, Amazon's Kindle. The Nook is also expected to make a physical appearance at some Barnes and Noble stores by midweek (scope out locations using the Nook in-store locator). But after all the hubbub and hair-pulling, is the Nook worth it?

An iPhone repair shop claims to have replacement parts for the iPhone 4G, which leave open some interesting possibilities about the rumored device.

The Motorola Droid will be upgraded to the Google Android 2.1 software this week, the company announced on its official Facebook page. The over-the-air software update will bring the Droid software on the par with the Google Nexus One, albeit with some features missing.

Google on Tuesday is reportedly going to unveil a new social service that will incorporate a stream of "media and status updates" into Gmail. These streams would not be public, but would require you to connect with your fellow Google users and may eventually incorporate other Google services like YouTube and Picasa, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Was your smartphone or notebook by your side during the Super Bowl? And were you tweeting your reactions to the TV ads, or trying to pull up Drew Brees' season completion percentage?

Gmail, meet Twitter.

Google is preparing to unveil a new social networking component for its Gmail Web service, according to reports published Monday. The service, The Wall Street Journal says, would add tweet-like status updates into the Gmail interface. It could be announced as early as this week.

Apple could cut iPad prices if the device isn't selling well, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Now that everyone's up to speed on Apple's iPad, few people actually plan to buy one, according to a survey by Retrevo.

In addition to the EOS Rebel T2i DSLR announced today, Canon expanded its 2010 PowerShot camera line with four new point-and-shoot models. The new PowerShots include replacements for the company's popular 2009 cameras, a pocketable high-zoom follow-up to the PowerShot SX200 IS, and a new touchscreen camera.

Three of the four new cameras also feature a nifty "miniature mode," which mimics the effect of a tilt-shift lens to make full-size objects look like scale models. A similar in-camera setting is in Olympus's Pen E-P2 and Pen E-PL1 Micro Four-Thirds cameras, but these are the first fixed-lens point-and-shoot models I've seen with the virtual tilt-shift effect. Canon's new feature also allows the shooter to choose a horizontal plane of focus when shooting in miniature mode.

The existing Canon Rebel XSi will be retired to make room for the new model, which has a variety of new features that will appeal to photo enthusiasts already using a digital SLR, and to those looking to move from a point-and-shoot digicam to a more advanced model that will enable greater creativity.

It's only a matter of time before another Android phone trumps Google's Nexus One, and based on an early glimpse, the HTC Incredible could be the one.

PocketNow got some very unofficial photos of the HTC Incredible, along with word that the phone will run HTC's Sense interface over Android 2.1. An earlier rumor from Engadget Mobile suggests the phone is coming to Verizon Wireless.