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Tuesday 24.11.2009 / 03:59 AM
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Spotify now available on Symbian phones Spotify has announced the launch of the music service for the Symbian operating system, available on Nokia smartphones as well as phones from Samsung and Sony Ericsson.

The company says Spotify Mobile is now available on the Nokia 6220 Classic, E71 and 5800 XpressMusic. It is also available on the Samsung GT-I8910 Omnia HD and Sony Ericsson Satio.

Spotify is available on the iPhone and Android devices as well.

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Sony confirms 'premium level' for PSN SCEE CEO Kaz Hirai has confirmed today that the company will be adding a "premium level" to the PlayStation Network in an effort to speed up revenue growth from the $500 million-plus business.

Users will still be able to play games online, as well as access Netflix and the PlayStation Store, for free, so it is unclear what the premium level will give users.

"We will be building upon our current free [PSN] service offering with premium content and services to start the subscription model,"
says Hirai.

Hirai then emphasized that the foundations of PSN would remain free.

"SCE will further increase sales by offering users new entertainment through the combination of hardware, software, peripheral, and PlayStation Network,"
he added. "Especially in the online area, we are studying the possibility of introducing a subscription model, offering premium content and services, in addition to the current free services."

Topic: 10 comments


Nintendo announces DSi holiday bundles Nintendo America has announced two new limited edition DSi holiday bundles, each of which will include five games pre-loaded.

The "Brain Teaser" bundles will include a white colorway handheld and Brain Age Express Arts & Letters, Sudoku and Math, Clubhouse Games Express: Card Classics and Photo Clock.

The "Mario" bundle will include a Metallic Blue handheld and Mario vs Donkey Kong: Minis March Again, Dr Mario Express, WarioWare: Snapped, Mario Calculator and Mario Clock.

Each bundle will retail for $169.99, the same as the console by itself, while including $20-25 worth of bonuses.

"These limited edition bundles come packed with some of the great Nintendo DSiWare games and applications that have made Nintendo DSi such a big hit with shoppers young and old," added Cammie Dunaway, NoA executive VP of sales and marketing. "The special price and pre-installed titles make the bundles a huge value for the holidays."

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iPhone worm can steal banking data It appears that the once "harmless" Jailbroken iPhone worm that was used by a teenager to Rick Roll his friends, has become a bit more malicious, stealing banking data and other personal information.

So far the worm is only affecting jailbroken iPhones in the Netherlands, running SSH, that use ING Direct for their banking needs. Although the number infected is only currently in the hundreds, the worm is spread via shared Wi-Fi so the potential is decently large especially given the increasing amount of public Wi-Fi spots.

The problem, as it was last time, is with users that do not change the default password for SSH (which is "alpine") allowing remote access to the jailbroken phone.

ING and Apple have already released warnings.

Topic: 4 comments


Roku adds 10 new content channels Roku has announced the addition of 10 new content channels, giving users more options than the current Netflix, Amazon VOD and MLB TV lineup.

The new channels are Blip.tv, Facebook Photos, Flickr, FrameChannel, Mediafly, MobileTribe, Motionbox, Pandora, Revision3, and TWiT. Each will be available through the newly updated Roku Channel Store interface via their set-top boxes.

The interface will be similar to App Stores, where Roku box owners can choose which apps they want. From there, the content will be sorted as "new," "most popular" and "top-rated."

The firmware update is being rolled out now and should take about two weeks to reach all users.

Topic: 5 comments


Google Navigation hacked to work outside of US, and on G1 European users who were thinking of purchasing the Motorola Milestone (the DROID), had one large disadvantage when considering. The lack of Google Maps Navigation, the free turn-by-turn GPS that is included with the DROID in the US.

It appears a user over at XDA Developers has found a hack that will allow users everywhere to use the impressive GPS. Additionally, the T-Mobile G1 can use the Navigation, despite not officially having the Android 2.0 software.

You can view the post with instructions here: Modifying Maps to enable Navigation outside USA

Topic: 2 comments


DSi LL launches in Japan The Nintendo DSi LL has launched in Japan this weekend to strong demand, with Kotaku reporting that many game stores had lines 100-deep with would-be buyers.

The newly updated handheld has dual-screens that are 93 percent larger than its predecessors and include a larger stylus as well as downloaded games, right out of the box.

Nintendo says the larger screens will be helpful for users who want to use the Internet browser or who need larger fonts for gaming and Internet.

The handheld sells for JPY 20,000 (about $220 USD), a premium from the standard DSi which retails for JPY 18,900.

The DSi LL (redubbed XL) will hit the EU and NA markets in the Q1 2010.

Topic: 1 comment


China Unicom has bold expectations for iPhone China Unicom, the nation's second largest mobile carrier and currently the only to offer the iPhone has said that it expects the smartphone to control one-tenth of all Chinese 3G users in the next "couple of years," a bold prediction for a phone that it said to have sold as little as 5000 units in its first week.

According to a Unicom senior exec however, the company sees strong demand from business users. "We expect the handset to attract over 10 percent of China’s 3G users in the following two to three years."

Chairman Chang Xiaobing went even further by saying that he expects the smartphone to become China's best-selling.

One of the main problems cited for slow sales is the phone's inflated price. Without contract, the higher capacity model sells for 6,999 yuan ($1000+ USD).

There are over 2 million users using gray-market iPhones in China currently.

Topic: 2 comments


Windows 8 coming in 2012? According to a roadmap revealed earlier this week, Microsoft will look to release their next updated operating system, codename "Windows 8," in 2012.

The move will keep up the pattern Microsoft has developed in launching major releases every four years. The company, according to the slides, considers Windows Server 2008 a major release and the R2 as a "release updates." Notably, Windows 7 is considered a "release update" as well.

Vista, released in 2007, had its release date pushed back three years when the company scrapped all existing work and started fresh after it was decided to base Vista on the then recently released Windows Server 2003.


28 comments


Hulu will be dead in two years, says Verizon CEO Verizon Communications CEO Ivan Seidenberg has made some interesting statements in the past and his latest has attracted attention as well.

Seidenberg says that popular online video site Hulu will be gone in two years, as users move on to something new or technology changes.

"When you think of the change, look at Hulu and the dialogue and debate, and you say, O.K. this is in for the next eight to twelve months and in two years it won't matter because the world will have moved on," he said.

To back up his point that technology is evolving fast, he noted the "Sixth Sense" project which is a mini-projector in a cellphone that will allow users to watch video and TV on any surface, wherever and whenever they want.

Topic: 7 comments


Netflix to stream IFC films IFC Entertainment has announced that 53 documentaries and other independent titles will now be available through Netflix's popular Watch Instantly streaming service.

A few of the films included are the Errol Morris documentaries "The Thin Blue Line" and "Gates of Heaven, Christopher Nolan’s debut, "Following," and "When Will I Be Loved." For foreign films, the movies include the hits "Brothers" and "Gabrielle," among many others.

The streaming service is free for users who have unlimited Netflix subscriptions, which start at $8.99, and is available on PC, Macs, and a plethora of devices including the PS3 and Xbox 360.

"Netflix has always championed independent cinema and has creatively built audiences for films in this genre, and we’re excited to give their customers instant access to this wide-ranging collection of independent film,” adds Lisa Schwartz, executive VP at IFC Entertainment, via VB. “Our top priority is to make independent film available to a wider audience, and this partnership further underscores that commitment."

Robert Kyncl, VP of content acquisition at Netflix says: “Partnering with IFC Films gives us the opportunity to expand the number of quality films that our subscribers can watch instantly. This deal reinforces our commitment to bringing diversity to the library and properties like this collection of titles bring us closer to that goal.”

Topic: 4 comments


Wal-Mart selling $78 Blu-ray player on Black Friday, other great deals Wal-Mart has unveiled that it will sell a $78 Magnavox Blu-ray player on Black Friday, the cheapest retail price for a BD player this year, undercutting Meijer’s $89 Sylvania Black Friday promotion.

Notably however, neither the Magnavox or the Sylvania models are BD-Live compliant, and will lack Web features such as Netflix-streaming, which is available via Best Buy's $99 Insignia model, which should be the best deal available if the $20 higher price tag is not a deal breaker.

Wal-Mart will also have $9.99 Blu-ray titles such as The Dark Knight, Wanted, Fast and Furious and all the Harry Potter films. For those who have not moved to HD, standard DVDs will be on sale for $1.99 including movies such as Casino Royale, Hellboy II, I Am Legend, Blood Diamond, Underworld and Spaceballs.

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Topic: 6 comments


PS3 Video Store live in Europe According to Olga Puzanova, Sony Europe Senior Manager of Marketing and Programming, the PS3 PSN Video Store is now live in the UK, Germany, France and Spain.

Says the blog post:

We’ve got amazing content lined up for you at launch, loads of latest new releases and all-time favourite classics. I will be updating you weekly via PlayStation Blog with all the new additions.

Now you can save the trip to the shops and enjoy hundreds of films in the comfort of your own sofa on your PS3 or on the go with PSP.

To celebrate the launch we are giving you PlayStation fans something extra! Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code: Two Great Movies for the Price of One! Its simple – you buy Angels & Demons and we e-mail you the voucher for The Da Vinci code. How great is that?

And if you are new to PlayStation we don’t want you to miss out! Just register your new console on PlayStation Network between November 19 and 30 and we will send you a voucher for Transformers movie. Yep, you can own Megan Fox in HD on your PS3 forever!
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'Zombieland' director speaks of piracy, gets angry via Twitter Earlier this week, the writer and director of the popular movie Zombieland, Rhett Reese, lashed out at pirates of his movie, saying it may lead to a sequel not being shot. He even personally attacked a few Twitter members which had posted about downloading and watching the film from their homes.

Zombieland is available as an R5, and was one of the most popular films via P2P of the last three weeks.

Reese has responded to the bad press however, and taken account for yelling at those on Twitter. He makes some interesting points whether or not you are for or against piracy:

Hi all, since I’m the one who unwittingly started this particular firestorm, here are my thoughts.

My two tweet plea (five if you include my three angry tweets to individuals) began after I read tweet upon tweet for hours, days, weeks, in which people mentioned (or often, bragged) openly about having just watched Zombieland at home for free. I largely shrugged this piracy off as inevitable, but it never felt good to read the tweets. Then I saw the 60 Minutes episode on piracy. And then I read an article about the sheer numbers of downloads of Zombieland in particular. Rightly or wrongly, I felt burned. For the record, I may have been over-dramatic, in my emotional state, in suggesting that downloading could kill Zombieland 2. It could. In our case, the greater hope/expectation is that it won’t. The movie has done very well.
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YouTube blocking use of native video API on some devices It appears that YouTube has begun blocking use of native video API on some devices, including the popular Popcorn Hour C-200 because they lack a license from the company.

Users can still access videos using Flash but will not be able to directly access YouTube videos.

Many current TV-connecting devices already have the license however, such as TiVO DVRs, Apple TV, and Bravia HDTVs. Handheld devices such as iPods and smartphones are immune from the blocks.

It is still unclear why the change of heart has occurred but many speculate that content providers, who are increasingly more important to current and future revenue for the video streaming site, have had some say in the decision.

Topic: 1 comment


iPhone headed to South Korea South Korea is set to get the Apple iPhone this week for the first time, through the country's second biggest carrier, KT Corp.

The nation, which has 47 million mobile users, is one of the world's most saturated markets. However, smartphones are lacking, and Korean-based Samsung and LG have just recently begun upping their efforts to bring smartphones to South Korea.

With the release of the iPhone, which has mandatory data plans, carriers in the nation hope that the business model will change, adding data to the mix.

KT will be offering an 8GB iPhone 3G, and two newer 16GB and 32GB iPhone 3GS. Users can get the for free or up to 396,000 KRW ($342 USD) depending on what service contract they choose. Monthly contracts range from 45,000 KRW to 95,000 KRW ($38-$82)

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