Mr Jobs promised us the iPhone’s Software Development Kit before February was out. And with just ten days left it looks like we’ll be getting a new load of firmware on top of those 3rd party apps too.

According to trustworthy Apple source TUAW, the new firmware has been mentioned on a developer’s website. The site suggests Apple has brought them on board for some 3rd party action for 1.1.4 and that they’re no longer working on 1.1.3.

Alas, Apple’s had that site yanked off the web faster than Dwain Chambers at an indoor running track. It now redirects to Apple’s iPhone developer site. Hmmm.

This could all mean we’re set to see even more updates to the recently bulked up iPhone very soon. Seeing as Apple’s such a fan of Tuesday announcements, we’re keeping 26th February pencilled in.

More news as and when we get our greedy mits on it.

It’s the war horse that’s kept our SNES dreams alive. And now the Wii incarnation of Mario Kart looks like it’s got a release date.

According to Play.com, you’ll be able to lay your Ninty loving hands on a copy from April 25th.

It’s the title we’ve been gasping for ever since the Wii first made its way in our front rooms at the rear end of 2006.

The game includes bikes for the first time, which give players even more flat out speed. There’s also access to a Mario Kart channel, letting you get involved with other players online.

There are 16 new tracks to race round, with another 16 remakes. Our pals at CVG have had a close up look at the game in action, and say it’s a beaut’.

For now, this release date remains speculation, but as soon as we get a firm timeframe, you’ll be the first to know.

With HD-DVD all but dead in the water, the Big M is going to need to turn its attentions to Video Marketplace in a big way. And it doesn’t get much bigger than getting Paramount on board for the online store.

The new deal will see us HD starved UK punters get Paramount flicks in standard and hi-def, costing the same price to rent as other films on the service: 250 points for you standard version, 380 for the HD one.

Movies in the initial round of releases include Transformers, A Mighty Heart and, er, 1408.

Okay, the selection is a bit pony at the moment, but it could be worse, right? You could have loads of obsolete HD-DVDs knocking around.

With iTunes bringing full-on movie rentals to the UK later this year, Microsoft is going to need to up its game when it comes to hi-def. still, more movies on Video Marketplace does keep us pretty happy. For now.

It’s looking increasingly like HD-DVD will be imminently laid to rest after a weekend of crushing developments in the bloody Hi-Def war with Blu-ray.

Shock news emerged over the weekend that Toshiba are preparing to halt production on disks and drives and, in the ensuing scramble, share prices at the company rose.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse were already striding over a fiery horizon when the mighty Wal-Mart (Asda) dropped HD-DVD in favour of Blu-Ray on Friday eve.

That telling blow came in a week when US rental service Netflix and retail giant Best Buy abandoned the format in its utmost hour of need. “Infamy! Infamy! They’ve all got it in for me.”

The official line from Tosh is that they are “examining the business,” but everything points to a pending white flag flying high above HD DVD headquarters within days.

It has indeed been an agonising month since that CES humiliation in Las Vegas, but the sheer speed of their looming surrender remains a surprise. They’ve barely lasted longer than Sam Allardyce’s hilarious Newcastle tenure.

The implications of this are huge and as soon as we hear for sure that Tosh have switched off the life support machine of their experiment, we’ll be examining the future of Hi-Definition, so stay tuned. The war is coming to an abrupt end.