The folks as ASUS are ready to debut some new Transformer tablets and notebooks at Computex. The new CEO of Yahoo has decided to completely axe Livestand. There’s a little bit of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich coming up on the Sony Xperia S. We’ll be at E3 this year, but Bungie will not.

Monster headphones have released three news sets for your enjoyment. Microsoft is set to block a massive class-action lawsuit with some contract cut-out action. SolaWerks SolaPad solar charging panel for your iPad will be coming very soon. the lovely Nokia Lumia 610 has had a few more Windows Apps restricted from its person.

And just so you know we’ve got an odd eye today, have a peek at how Harley-Davidson have added a motorcycle to their museum which went through the Japanese tsunami and ended up in British Columbia. Grab it!

This device will be coming with Nokia Music, Nokia Drive, and a lovely new Nokia Reading app. This device works with a WVGA resolution touchscreen and will have a slightly lower processing speed under the hood than its predecessors running Windows Phone. Have a peek at our hands-on video from the world’s first introduction to this device this spring:

You might want to compare this device to the Lumia 710, the closest this device is going to get to the rest of the high-class Windows Phone world offered up by Nokia today. This device will be attacking the mid-tier of smartphone owners and will likely be a hit across the UK. No word yet from Nokia when or if it will be hitting the USA – we can hope!

Here’s the full statement from Nokia:

Nokia values the user experience provided by its products and services. Therefore, although the Skype Windows Phone version is workable on Nokia Lumia 610, after in-depth testing, we found that the user experience is not up to par with Nokia and Skype’s expectation and decided not recommending users using Skype on Nokia Lumia 610. In the future, users of Nokia Lumia 610 would no longer be able to download Skype Windows Phone version from Window Phone Marketplace. However, Skype Windows Phone version would still be available for other users.

The issue essentially boils down to the lack of RAM on the Lumia 610. The standard for Windows Phones is 512MB of RAM, while the Lumia 610 is only running 256MB. The app was most likely designed with the higher limit in mind, so Lumia 610 users seem to be butting up against memory limits. Skype did suggest that the app might not run properly on phones with less than 512MB, and it turns out the company was right.

It’s not clear right now if Skype intends to release an updated version of the app that will cater to lower specification phones, but we can’t imagine Microsoft will sit still and let the issue stand as is. Users probably aren’t happy about a premiere app being pulled either, and it raises questions about what other apps might share a similar fate in the future.

[via WPCentral]

The 610 NFC is certified for contactless payments both with VISA’s payWave system and MasterCard’s PayPass. Those with compatible bank accounts should be able to use their Lumia 610 NFC to tap-to-pay in stores with NFC-enabled registers.

Meanwhile, the NFC will also be used for hooking up accessories, such as Nokia’s Play 360 speaker, more easily. Rather than demanding users scan for new Bluetooth devices and then punch in a PIN-code, the Lumia 610 NFC will allow them to simply tap the handset against the accessory and see it automatically pair up.

Nokia has added its own NFC software stack on top of Windows Phone, accompanying the extra NFC hardware into the basic 610. Microsoft has promised native NFC support in Windows Phone sometime this year, so it’s unclear how Nokia’s implementation differs from that “official” upgrade. Still, it seems Nokia isn’t willing to wait. “We’re bringing NFC right across our portfolio” Ilari Nurmi, head of product marketing for Nokia’s Smart Devices business unit said today, promising to support operators and business in rolling out “NFC payment and ticketing solutions.”

No pricing for the Nokia Lumia 610 NFC has been confirmed, though the company says it’s hoping to use the handset to push both Windows Phone and contactless payments to a more affordable price point. It will arrive early in Q3 2012.

[Thanks Kote!]