Microsoft has begun offering an annual pay option for its Zune Pass, after over a year of only offering a monthly option.

The monthly pass was $15 per month but now subscribers can pay for one year upfront for $150.

Ars asked Microsoft for comment: "It went live yesterday in the US, UK, France, Italy and Spain. The monthly subscription is for $14.99 in the US and €9.99 or £8.99 in European markets. The annual Zune Pass subscription is the same monthly offer, at a discounted price of 12 months of music for the price of 10 months."

The updated Zune Pass subscription option comes right on the heels of the release of Windows Phone 7, which integrates the service.

A Microsoft Zune Pass gives you unlimited access to 10 million songs while you are subscribed whilst also getting to keep 10 songs as free downloads per month.

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itrans has posted a supposed leaked picture of Samsung's upcoming (but still unconfirmed) Galaxy S2 smartphone, along side a spec sheet that should impress everyone.

Please note that the picture may just be a mock up and the specs are all speculation so take this as rumor for now.

The new Galaxy smartphone has a tentative release date of the Q1 2011.

Spec sheet:

4.3" 1280x720 resolution Super AMOLED 2 display
Android 2.3 (at least)
2GHz CPU, 1GB RAM/4GB ROM
32GB of built-in flash memory, 32GB expandable microSD card slot
8MP camera with FullHD video recording
A-GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi b/g/n
3.5mm audio jack
Accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity and ambient light sensors

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Engadget has posted this weekend that Netflix is already testing a streaming-only plan for U.S. subscribers.

For $7.99, the streaming-only plan will give users a chance to watch 15,000 movies and TV shows from Netflix's "Watch Instantly" catalog.

Users will not get any physical media rentals in the mail, however, if they choose the plan.

Mixed plans that offer unlimited streaming and 1-disc-out at a time currently cost subscribers $10 per month.

CEO Reed Hastings had implied that the streaming-only model has been very successful in Canada and so they have accelerated plans for the U.S. version.

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Amazon has confirmed that they will be introducing a 14-day lending period for Kindle e-books starting later this year, matching a feature the rival Barnes & Noble Nook has had since launch.

Kindle e-book owners will be able to lend out books to friends and family for two weeks, and just like with the Nook, users will not be able to read their books while they're lent out.

Not all books will have the feature, however, as it is completely at the discretion of the publishers to enable it.

Amazon offers their new Wi-Fi-only Kindle for $139, slightly undercutting B&N's Wi-Fi-only Nook which retails for $149.

Says Amazon:

"Later this year, we will be introducing lending for Kindle, a new feature that lets you loan your Kindle books to other Kindle device or Kindle app users. Each book can be lent once for a loan period of 14-days and the lender cannot read the book during the loan period. Additionally, not all e-books will be lendable - this is solely up to the publisher or rights holder, who determines which titles are enabled for lending."

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Google has finally made Android 2.3, aka Gingerbread official by adding a giant gingerbread cookie to their collection of over sized dessert item statues.

The statues are on Google's campus, where Android remains in constant development.

Says Google VP of engineering Andy Rubin of upcoming Gingerbread updates: "More forms of communication. I think social media is a form of communication. I think you would just talk about general improvements to the platform and make it faster and more robust. I think gaming is an area that I think is underserved right now. We're actually going through a reinvention of casual gaming. If you look at a console game like an XBOX or a PlayStation or a Nintendo, I think it's very, "sit down and try to get to the maximum level possible." On cell phones and devices that are battery operated, I think there's more kind of "what do you do in between the times when you're doing something?" It's more about running a game to fill time rather than running a game to be a dedicated event."

Most also expect an entirely redone user interface that would eliminate the need for "skins" like HTC's Sense or Motorola's MotoBLUR.

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