Weekly high-tech hot topics in the blogs: AOL buys TechCrunch, PlayBook, Apple TV, Amazon tablet

Hot topics in the tech blogs for the week ending October 1 include AOL's acquisition of technology blog TechCrunch, the unveiling of RIM's PlayBook tablet, Apple TV reviews, a deal between Facebook and Skype, and Amazon's Android app store.

AOL acquires TechCrunch
Early in the week rumors about a possible buy-out of technology blog TechCrunch started popping up in the blogs. Those rumors were soon confirmed as AOL revealed "TechCrunch and its associated properties and conferences will join the AOL Technology Network while retaining their editorial independence."

RIM reveals its PlayBook tablet
Research In Motion unveiled its BlackBerry PlayBook, a feature-rich tablet aimed at the professional market. Bloggers were impressed by the tablet's technical specifications and RIM's forward-thinking approach to mobile computing, especially after the company failed to deliver with its recently announced flagship touchscreen smartphone, the BlackBerry Torch.

Apple TV reviews
Bloggers got their hands on the new Apple TV this week and posted reviews that revealed more information about the device. iFixit cracked open the new Apple TV to find 8GB of flash storage, 256MB of integrated RAM and "clues about the future of Apple's App Store."

Facebook and Skype integration
A report on website All Things Digital suggested that Facebook and Skype are currently negotiating a deal that would "include the integration of SMS, voice chat and Facebook Connect." Bloggers speculated that the changes would be coming very soon, and would most likely be implemented in a new version of Skype (5.0) expected to launch within weeks.

Amazon launching Android app store
Bloggers believe Amazon is set to launch an Android application store, and there may just be an Amazon Android Tablet in the works too. The application store launch is said to be coming very soon, possibly within the next week but will be for the US only.