In less than 48 hours, over one million iTunes 10 users have signed up for a Ping account. No word on how many of those accounts were used for spam, though.

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Apple, previous Ars coverage

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Even as the IEEE P1901 working group was set to meet this week to recommend its draft standard for broadband over powerline networks for official status, Netgear announced its line of Powerline AV 500 adapters that incorporate the HomePlug-compatible flavor of the standard. The new devices theoretically promise up to gigabit Ethernet speeds over home electrical wiring, and are the first to incorporate the newest standard.

The Powerline AV 500 comes in either standard or power pass-through versions, and are available in two-adapter “kits” to set up a source and destination point for your network. While hardcore geeks won’t settle for anything less than running Cat 6 cable all throughout the house, powerline adapters have the benefit of being able to utilize existing electrical wiring to move data from point to point, and could be convenient for homes or apartments where running new cable would be impractical, prohibitively expensive, or just not allowed by your landlord.

While the IEEE P1901 standard promises speeds up to 1Gbps, no powerline adapters come close to the top theoretical speeds (and to be fair, neither does most wireless networking hardware). Still, it can provide greater and more consistent bandwidth for applications like networked AV equipment or gaming consoles compared to increasingly crowded home WiFi networks.

“Almost every new home entertainment device today can be connected to the Internet. This puts tremendous demand on the home network,” Netgear product manager Chris Geisersaid in a statement. The new Powerline adapters are up to 2.5 times faster than competing products and provide a useful supplement to WiFi networks, he said.

The Powerline AV 500 line starts at $159 for a kit, and will begin shipping this fall according to Netgear. The P1901 WG expects its standard to be submitted the IEEE for adoption as an official standard at the end of this month.

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Apple has revamped its movie trailers page to now offer showtimes, along with a map. It can automatically detect your location too, so no input necessary.

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Apple Trailers/Showtimes

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The Samsung Galaxy tab may launch on Sprint in November, and could possibly be 4G compatible.

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Boy Genius Report

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Spam has already started to pop up on Apple’s new Ping social network. There are built-in tools to report it, but can’t we have just one spam-free online service?

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MacRumors

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Apple became the biggest fish in the very small touchscreen tablet pond when it launched the iPad this past spring. But more fish will arrive starting mid-month when Samsung launches its Galaxy Tab mobile device in Europe (US and Asia will get it “in the coming months”). After being rumored and teased for weeks, Samsung officially unveiled its entry into the burgeoning market at the IFA show in Germany on Thursday.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab is a 7″ widescreen touch tablet powered by Android 2.2. The Tab will use the same TouchWiz UI used on Samsung’s line of Galaxy S smartphones, which gives it a very iOS-like look and feel. Also following the iPad’s lead, the device has a metal back, black bezel, bottom speakers, and even a 30-pin connector.

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During Apple’s annual music event Wednesday, CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the 10th major version of its iTunes media management software. Since the program now handles music, video, books, iOS apps, and more, Apple has finally revised the logo to eliminate the CD. With a slightly revised UI, the main new features include compatibility with HD TV rentals, the new AirPlay feature, and a new music-focused social network called “Ping.”

Jobs noted that one of the most important features of iTunes and the iTunes Store is discovery—that is, enabling users to discover new music from artists they might not already know. Ping is designed to add discovery features directly into iTunes.

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Amazon will also be offering 99 TV shows from ABC and Foxfor rental and sale.

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Cnet

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As you’ve likely already seen, Apple unveiled all manner of shiny new products at Wednesday’s media event. The iPod touch gained cameras and FaceTime, the iPod nano went touchscreen-only, the iPod shuffle got its buttons back, and the Apple TV got a major overhaul. As usual, Ars got a chance to play with the new products following the event, and we have some hands-on photos (as well as observations) to share with you.

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As you’ve likely already seen, Apple unveiled all manner of shiny new products at Wednesday’s media event. The iPod touch gained cameras and FaceTime, the iPod nano went touchscreen-only, the iPod shuffle got its buttons back, and the Apple TV got a major overhaul. As usual, Ars got a chance to play with the new products following the event, and we have some hands-on photos (as well as observations) to share with you.

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