Review: Film Fresh DivX download store

Nintendo has updated the Wii console firmware to version 4.2 this week, promising the new menu “provides behind-the-scene fixes that will not affect features but will improve the overall system performance.”

Unfortunately for gamers currently using the Homebrew Channel, the update “will also check for and automatically remove such save data (unauthorized modifications to save data or program files) or program files.”

Nintendo's meaning here is clear. Firmware 4.2 will completely delete the Homebrew Channel, and any file related to it, most notably the DVD Player, USB loader and the ability to make your Wii region-free.

If you are running the Homebrew Channel, it is safe to say you do not want to update to 4.2 just yet, as Nintendo seems to be tackling piracy head-on.

The European Commission (EC) has noted today that all MP3 players sold in the European Union will soon come with a required "default setting," in an effort to "discourage" users from listening to music at volume levels that will eventually hurt their hearing.

The group will revise the standards after reports from a scientific committee concluded that prolonged "exposure to loud playback" would eventually cause permanent damage to one's hearing.

The EC estimates that up to 100 million people, mainly younger users, use MP3 players every day and that 10 percent of those users are headed for permanent damage.

There are two main problems with MP3 players and volume control, says the EC, one of which is that many users use them in loud areas such as buses and subways and are therefore forced to raise the volume. The second problem is "prolonged use."

The scientific committee says listening to music at under 80 dBA (decibels adjusted) is perfectly fine but your risk factor goes up exponentially for every dB (A) after that. At 100 dB (A), only 1 hour of playback is recommended, per week.

The default setting will likely be in the 65-75 dB (A) range, and users raising the volume higher will be greeted with an on-screen warning.

Apple has announced today that the ever-popular App Store has hit 2 billion downloads, with over 85,000 apps now available to iPhone and iPod Touch users.

“The rate of App Store downloads continues to accelerate with users downloading a staggering two billion apps in just over a year, including more than half a billion apps this quarter alone,” added Apple CEO Steve Jobs. “The App Store has reinvented what you can do with a mobile handheld device, and our users are clearly loving it.”

The marketplace hit 1.5 billion downloads in July, and is clearly seeing exponential growth.

The devices are available in 77 countries.

Just one day after Amazon dropped the price of the popular Palm Pre smartphone to $100 USD, Wal-Mart has begun selling the phone for $80 USD with two-year contract with exclusive carrier Sprint.

The phone has a 3.1-inch touchscreen with 480x320 resolution and a slider design which hides a full QWERTY keyboard. More notably, the phone uses Palm's own WebOS Linux-based operating system, which offers multitasking for applications and "Synergy" for contacts integration.

$80 is the cheapest the phone has ever sold for, and will likely help boost sales headed into the holiday season.

Myles Weathers, of Springfield, Massachusetts, has pleaded guilty today to stealing over 3000 DVDs that had been sent to customers through Netflix, using his job as a postal worker to do so.

Weathers began stealing the discs in January 2007 and was arrested one year later. Netflix had alerted the authorities and the Springfield post office that up to 100 movies a week were disappearing from the branch.

The former postal worker was arrested on the spot when he was filmed taking the DVDs from their packages and stuffing them in his jacket or backpack.

Sentencing is set for December 23rd and Weathers will face 10-16 months and a fine of $38,000 to be paid back to Netflix.

According to a new NPD analysis, Blu-ray will finally break into the mainstream in 2010, especially as prices continue to drop.

The company researched consumers using Blu-ray set-top boxes (not including the PS3) in February 2008 and in August of this year, and the figures clearly showed that BD is out of the "early adopter" phase and into the "dreamers" phase which is the group that wants the new technology but are "deterred by price."

Regardless, NPD says falling prices, strong holiday sales, and a slowing uptrending economy will finally push Blu-ray from "niche" technology to "mainstream."

In the 2008 study, over 64 percent of users were early adopters, which only account for 20 percent of the entire market. By August however, the number had been reduced to 38 percent, and replaced by "dreamers" and "sensibles," a group full of middle aged families who like the technology but waited some time before investing. Those two groups account for over 40 percent of the entire market.

Earlier this week, French parliament approved the highly controversial 'three strikes' law for Internet pirates, giving authorities the power to disconnect multiple time offenders from the Web completely.

The bill has been advocated by the media companies for some time now but has faced critical opposition in most nations. The media companies have also thrown around a lot of big numbers to justify the law, for example saying that music piracy costs the UK economy £200 million every year.

The ISPs have begun to fight back however, and BT in the UK has recently stated that the three strikes laws would cost ISPs £1 million a day in lost customers and infrastructure costs. Doing some quick math and we see that the £365 million it will cost ISPs is a lot more damaging then the "£200 million" that music piracy is costing the economy. Of course, both figures have little to no solid data to back them up, but still a very interesting debate.

Jeff Reifman, a blogger who dubs himself a "Seattle-based technologist, writer and media advocate," has written an extremely interesting post this week about software giant Microsoft, accusing the company of avoiding up to $700 million USD in taxes over the past decade plus by having its software licensing office in Reno, Nevada instead of Redmond, Washington.

Making the "avoidance" even more notable, is that Washington State is currently in the midst of a $430 million USD budget deficit, one that would be turned to a surplus if Microsoft was paying their taxes.

Says Reifman: "Over the past thirteen years, I estimate that Microsoft has avoided paying more than $707 million in B & O taxes on sales of its corporate software licenses. Although the majority of its software development is performed in Washington State, Microsoft records its estimated $18 billion in licensing revenue per year through a corporate office in Reno, Nevada where there is no licensing tax."

He continues: "Under the state's .484 percent software royalty tax(lowered from 1.5 percent in 1998 after industry lobbying), I estimate that Microsoft should have paid more than $90 million in 2008 and $87 million in 2009 in state taxes."

Starz has announced that a lot of their classic and new movie content is now available via iTunes, bringing films from Overture Films, Anchor Bay Films, Anchor Bay Entertainment, and Manga Entertainment to the popular downloading platform.

Among the content available today is Sunshine Cleaning, Head Case, Martin Lawrence Presents 1st Amendment Stand-up, and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone, says the company.

Among films coming in the very near future are The Hills Have Eyes, Phantasm, The Haunted World of El Superbeasto; The Education of Charlie Banks, The Grand, Lower Learning, Sex and Death 101 and Surfer, Dude, Dead Space: Downfall, Hellboy: Blood and Iron, Hellboy: Sword of Storms, and Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie.

"We are very pleased to be expanding our offerings on iTunes to now include a wide array of current and library feature films from Overture Films, Anchor Bay Entertainment, and Manga Entertainment, in addition to the popular Manga Entertainment and Starz Originals TV content," added Marc DeBevoise, senior vice president, digital media, business development and strategy for Starz Media and lead executive for Starz Digital Media.

After weeks of rumors, the Palm Pre is finally under $100 USD, with Amazon dropping the price to $99.99 with 2-year contract, a $50 discount off Sprint's official price, after rebate.

Sprint had planned to offer $100 rebates but strangely pulled the deal within hours of starting the promotion. The company called the deal an "error."

Sprint spokesperson Mark Elliott added that retail partners can "set their own price for devices," but declined to say if Sprint would soon be matching the price.

The phone has a 3.1-inch touchscreen with 480x320 resolution and a slider design which hides a full QWERTY keyboard. More notably, the phone uses Palm's own WebOS Linux-based operating system, which offers multitasking for applications and "Synergy" for contacts integration.

The Pre is headed to the UK on October 16th.

The new release X-Men Origins: Wolverine is selling well on Blu-ray, says 20th Century Fox, with over 20 percent of sales coming in the HD format. On average, Blu-rays account for 12.5 percent of all sales.

Although they would not give numbers, the studio said Wolverine was their best ever selling Blu-ray, beating out Quantum of Solace, which was released in March.

“Wolverine launched this summer [season] in theaters and is now doing the same for the holiday season in home entertainment,” added Simon Swart, executive VP/general manager at Fox. “Wolverine is Fox’s biggest selling Blu-ray ever.”

The studio also added that the movie's BD Live features were the most popular ever.

Sony Japan has slashed the price of the PSP-3000 model in the nation, cutting the MSRP by 15 percent and dropping the handheld to a price cheaper than that of more popular rival, the Nintendo DS/DSi.

The price cut will drop the MSRP from JPY 19,800 ($219 USD) to JPY 16,800 ($185 USD), pricing it significantly cheaper than the DS which retails for JPY 18,900 ($209 USD).

The price cut will occur before the release of the PSPgo on November 1st.

There was no word on whether Japan would be the only to see the price reduction.

According to Arstechnica, using stats from the mobile advertising firm AdMob, iPhone owners have been reluctant to upgrade their phones to firmware 3.1, with most remaining at 3.0x or even 2.2.

Overall, says the data, only 23 percent were running of iPhone owners were running 3.1, while 51 percent were running 3.0x and another 26 percent were running 2.2.1 or earlier.

The numbers come from ad requests via apps, so users still running 1.x software are not even included in the report.

The report also shows that iPod Touch users are not fans of paying for their firmware updates, with only 35 percent of users updating.

Pic via Ars:

Sony has announced today that any owner of UMD games who want to upgrade to the new UMD-less PSPgo will receive three free games via digital download if they choose to do so.

The newly dubbed PSPgo Rewards program "involves registering a PSPgo on PSN, then logging on to PSN with an existing PSP with a UMD in the drive, which allows you to download a special PSPgo theme and then presents you with a voucher via email for use with the PSPgo," says Gi.biz.

There are 17 titles available to download through the program, and you could choose any 3. The titles are: Killzone: Liberation, SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3, WipEout Pure, Everybody's Golf, echochrome, Buzz!: Brain Bender, Buzz!: Master Quiz, LocoRoco and Patapon.

After over a week of rumors , Sony has confirmed that they will be launching a line of 250GB slim PS3 bundles.

The first bundle, available October 1st, will include inFamous or two Platinum titles.

The second bundle will include Uncharted 2, and will be released on October 16th.

Three days later, the third bundle will be released, and will include the Blu-rays X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The Dark Knight as well as a Blu-ray remote.

Each of the bundles will retail in the UK for GBP 284.99.

In Japan, December 17th will see the release of Final Fantasy XIII bundle for 41,600 yen, about $450 USD.

"Following the great success of the new, smaller, 120GB PS3, which sold over one million units in its first three weeks on sale, the 250GB model has the same hardware specifications as the current model, but with greater storage space, to offer consumers even more choice," says Sony, via GamesIndustry.biz.

Sony has said today that sales of the recently released slim PS3 have hit 1 million in the three weeks since its launch.

The console went on sale in North America and Europe on September 1st and in Japan on the 3rd.

The new slimmer model costs 29,980 yen in Japan, $299 USD in North America and 299 euros in Europe.

"The console packs cutting-edge technologies, including the (pre-installed) 120 gigabyte hard-disk drive and Blu-ray capability, at a lower price," adds Sony Computer Entertainment spokeswoman Makiko Noda, via the AP.

"The new PS3 has been doing very well, and one of the reasons for this is the price," noted SCE president Kaz Hirai. "As a system in the living room, we have managed to realise this price without making any changes to what is good about it."

O2 has announced that the popular smartphone Palm Pre will will be released in the UK on October 16th, making it available via their direct store as well as Carphone Warehouse, Phones4U and other retail partners.

The phone will be free if you sign up for 18 or 24-month contracts, which cost £73.41 or £44.05 per month.

The phone has a 3.1-inch touchscreen with 480x320 resolution and a slider design which hides a full QWERTY keyboard. More notably, the phone uses Palm's own WebOS Linux-based operating system, which offers multitasking for applications and "Synergy" for contacts integration.

Ronan Dunne, CEO of Telefonica O2 UK added: “Today’s announcement reinforces O2’s position as the home of the smartphone. With the addition of the excellent Palm Pre to our already extensive portfolio, we will continue to offer our customers the widest range of the very best devices on the market today.”

“There’s a lot of excitement about Palm Pre in Europe as we continue to expand Palm webOS products across new carriers and countries,” notes Jon Rubinstein chairman and chief executive officer, Palm, Inc. “We look forward to launching Palm Pre with O2 so people in the UK can see firsthand how Palm webOS offers a new and better smartphone experience.”

This week we reported that rumors of Microsoft-branded phones had surfaced again, and a prototype sketch of the Turtle handset made its way around the Web.

Today, Gizmodo is reporting that the two phones, dubbed Turtle and Pure, will be made by Sharp, but will be branded by Microsoft.

The site says the phones are in the "later stages" of the development cycle and will be aimed at the younger demographic, likely teens.

The pics, via Gizmodo:

According to the Minister for Digital Britain Stephen Timms, the controversial UK "broadband tax" should "be law" soon, meaning every citizen with a fixed line telephone will have to pay a 50 pence a month tax.

Timms added that the tax will be part of the larger Finance Bill set to be presented to parliament before the next election.

Tory MP John Whittingdale adds that the tax is expected to raise about £175 million a year "to fund high speed networks."

The bill is expected to face opposition, mostly from the Conservative party.

"I'm confident the Conservative party will oppose it. I object to it on the basis that it is another tax and is aimed at people who are using old technology," added Mr Whittingdale.

Reiterated Timms: "We want to make high speed networks nationally available. The next-generation fund will help that and we will legislate for it this side of a general election."

The bill is "full steam ahead," adds business secretary, Lord Mandelson.

The South Korean government has announced today that they have agreed to allow the Apple iPhone to sell in the nation, a big victory for Apple breaking into the very exclusive market.

The decision, made by the Korea Communications Commission, is one of the few times the nation has allowed phones from foreign brands in.

The Korean-based Samsung and LG benefited the most from Korea's closed door policy, and currently sit as the second and third largest makers of mobile handsets in the world, only falling behind Nokia.

Notably for Apple, South Korea has one of the highest population, percentage-wise, of cell phone users in Asia, with over 93 percent of the 49 million citizens subscribing to mobile carriers.

There was no word on when the iPhone will be released in South Korea, but it is expected that other smartphone makers will apply to have their phones sold in the nation now, including RIM.

Google has announced the release of Google Chrome Frame, a plug-in for Internet Explorer that will bring "HTML5 and other open web technologies" to the browser.

Says Google:

"We're building Google Chrome Frame to help web developers deliver faster, richer applications like Google Wave. Recent JavaScript performance improvements and the emergence of HTML5 have enabled web applications to do things that could previously only be done by desktop software. One challenge developers face in using these new technologies is that they are not yet supported by Internet Explorer. Developers can't afford to ignore IE — most people use some version of IE — so they end up spending lots of time implementing work-arounds or limiting the functionality of their apps.

With Google Chrome Frame, developers can now take advantage of the latest open web technologies, even in Internet Explorer. From a faster Javascript engine, to support for current web technologies like HTML5's offline capabilities and < canvas >, to modern CSS/Layout handling, Google Chrome Frame enables these features within IE with no additional coding or testing for different browser versions. Read more...

On September 16th, the Dutch-based retailer Nedgame announced that they would not stock the PSP Go, claiming that the handheld was overpriced and forced a monopoly on game sales, killing the used games market.

Today, it appears that the large retailer EB Games will not stock the PSP Go either, however, only in Australia.

EB Games does not mention the handheld at all on its site, and Kotaku reports that calling Sydney-based stores confirms the fact.

Sony Australia added: "In relation to our business and the launch of PSPgo, we are already experiencing solid support for launch day on October 1 in Australia. Retail support of the PSP platform, includes both PSP-3000 and PSPgo. Many retailers will choose to range both PSP models side-by-side, as we continue to offer expanded choice for the consumer for the handheld device platform. As with any new product, there will be continued discussions with retail partners to continue to expand reach over time in line with growth of the entire PSP platform."

Rumors have been flying for weeks that Nintendo is set to drop the price of the Wii gaming console to $199 USD next week, but it appears UK gamers will not get the same luxury.

Gamesindustry.biz is reporting that instead of a price cut, the UK will see new retail bundles that include the Wii MotionPlus accessories and two games.

The console retails for GBP 199 but the new bundle will add Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort, and the MotionPlus peripheral.

A few retailers have already listed the bundle, and it is expected to go on sale within two weeks.

Nintendo called the bundle talk "rumour and speculation".

According to a new report from Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry, Motorola is planning to release over 10 Android-based mobile phones in the next year, a very short time frame given that the company only released their first Android phone this month.

Citing industry sources, Chowdry adds that the phones will sell for $40 to $400 USD, aimed at different demographics.

Motorola currently has only a 5.5 percent market share, a strong decline from the 17 percent it held in 2004, at the height of the Razr V3 fad, and analysts mostly agree that Android phones are Motorola's last chance to steal back market share still dominated worldwide by Nokia, Samsung and more recently, Apple.

Last week, France's lower house approved the extremely controversial "three-strikes" law for Internet pirates, giving authorities the power to disconnect multiple time offenders from the Internet completely.

Today, the Internet Piracy law was approved by the French parliament, however critics from the Socialist party immediately announced an appeal, just minutes after the decision.

The bill passed with a final vote of 258 to 131.

The French Culture Ministry, after the bill passed the lower house, said they expect about 1000 French Internet users to be kicked offline, every day. Besides being disconnected, pirates also face a fine as high as euro 300,000 (about $440,000 USD).

Unknowing parents whose kids use the family computer to download unauthorized content are also subject to the law, which will have the family's Internet cut off for a month along with a euro 3,750 fine.

During an interview with Reuters, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings spoke out about the future of the physical DVD, as well as Netflix's plans for the iPhone, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii and possible competition from YouTube

The interview in its entirety:

Reuters: What will Netflix subscribers gain from the improvements in the recommendation system?

Hastings: It’s doubling the quality of our movie recommendation and that helps our subscribers get more enjoyment from movies. Because more often they love the movie they watch. More often the movies recommended will will turn out to be movies that you love. If you watch a couple of movies and don’t like many, you start to watch (sports and other programming). If every movie is incredible, you start to watch more.

Reuters: Netflix video streams on Microsoft’s Xbox Live system. What about the PS3 and Wii?
Hastings: Eventually we want to be on all the game consoles, all the Blu-ray players, all the Internet TVs. So we are working in parallel with all of those efforts. Currently our Xbox deal is exclusive and we haven’t characterized it more than that. Read more...

Microsoft has started a new promotion this week, offering a $50 USD rebate on the Xbox 360 Elite console. The promotion is through Microsoft and Netflix, and is available to all 50 states in the US.

Dell Home has the Xbox 360 Elite 120GB Console for $300 but you can use an additional 15% off coupon 6FWJ247J1P44CK bringing the total down to $255 USD. With the rebate and using Dell DPA the total price for your new shiny Elite is $197.

For more information on the rebate, please visit this link: Xbox 360 Elite Rebate.

The rebate is good for any purchase between today and October 5th, and you will need an "ORIGINAL UPC Code from the product box with the product name and barcode clearly identified from the product (click here to see UPC location)"

You will also need "a copy of your sales receipt that clearly shows the date and store name where you purchased your product as well as a printed copy of the e-rebate form."

In August, the World Trade Organization (WTO) decided in favor of the United States in a dispute over the sale of American films, books and music in China.

Today, China has appealed the decision, however the documents are not public as of yet.

The ruling had pitted China against the US, over China's internal decision to force American products to be routed through state-owned companies. Over the past decade China has limited the amount of foreign products that enter the Chinese market, while at the same time exporting the most goods and creating a gigantic surplus.

The August decision was almost completely in favor of the US and its complaining parties, Warner Bros., Disney, Paramount, Universal, 20th Century Fox, EMI, Sony Music Entertainment, McGraw Hill and Simon & Schuster.

The WTO agreed rules were being broken, but did not agree with the US on the argument that the censorship was slowing sales in the nation.

The appellate ruling is not expected until January.

Rumors have surfaced again today over the highly anticipated Microsoft-branded mobile phone, and ZDnet compiled all the rumors into one page.

Dubbed Pink for the time being, the smartphone will include premium service such as the Zune Marketplace and the phone will likely have many of the features of the T-Mobile Sidekick, given that Microsoft acquired the boys behind the Sidekick last year.

The Pink will also use the upcoming Windows Mobile 7, however the OS is not expected to be available until the Q3 2010. There is still a chance however, that we will see an early prototype of the Pink at the CES event in January.

Here is a alleged drawing of one of the two Pink phones, nicknamed "Turtle":

In June, the three major motion picture studios, Lionsgate, Paramount, and MGM jointly announced the launch of Epix, an HD online streaming service and HD TV station that will allow users to watch the studio's films, in HD.

The studios have said this week that the expected launch date of late October is still in the cards, and launch day will see blockbuster films on the service, including "Iron Man."

Epix is, technically, a studio-controlled venture that will give cable operators and distributors an easier way to shop for rights for movies on video-on-demand and online video. It may all sound good, but the studios have been having a little trouble securing carriage deals. Comcast even went as far as to say that they are not looking for any new TV-with-fee channels.

Epix only currently has a deal with Verizon FiOS, meaning the site will be available to a minuscule 2.5 million US citizens. The company is in talks with Dish, which would add 14 million households, but currently the talks are just that, talks.

JoyStiq is reporting today that they have received pictures from Norwegian GameStop employees which show clearly that Sony is planning five 250GB Slim PS3 bundles for Europe.

The five bundles, which will include the new Slim PS3 with a 250GB HDD and one game will include the games Need For Speed: Shift, Assassin's Creed 2, Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time, Uncharted 2, and FIFA 10.

The images show the prices as 3799 kr, 500 kr more expensive than the 120GB model Slim PS3 in Norway. There were no release dates however.

Sony continues to deny comment on any of the rumored bundles.

According to an interview with the Financial Times, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada has noted that he expects Nintendo to release an updated Wii console by 2011, offering a new type of controller as well as more "next-gen" functionality.

What this added functionality is up for debate, some are speculating that a Blu-ray may even be added. Wada also speculated that upcoming Sony and Microsoft motion control systems will have little impact on the market.

"Present game machines already have a lot of functions: they are a network terminal, a Blu-ray or DVD player, and a gaming machine," says Wada.

"Compared to these three pillars, the [new motion] controllers are quite limited, so the impact may be small. They are an extension of the gaming function."

Wada did however, compliment Microsoft's Natal tech.

"As a user interface it's fantastic and I think it will become standard," he noted.

The giant e-tailer Amazon has begun a new line dubbed Amazon Basics today, selling private label electronics accessories such as DVD-R, HDMI cables and USB cables.

“We saw an opportunity to create a line of consumer electronics basics that combine quality and low prices for an overall focus on value,” added Paul Ryder, Amazon’s vice president of consumer electronics.

Amazon Basics, available here, is only a few products now, but Amazon promises the range will grow. You won't be seeing any Amazon HDTVs anytime soon however, as the company plans to stick to "inexpensive accessories."

By offering the inexpensive items, Amazon can still increase their margins by completely cutting out the middleman. Amazon is certainly not the first e-tailer to start private label sales. Newegg has been selling highly popular computer peripherals such as cases under the name Rosewill for some time.

The prices are pretty decent as well, with a 100-pack of DVD-R selling for $19 USD and 6-foot HDMI cables selling for about $8 USD. It won't put Monoprice out of business, but it's certainly reasonable compared to Monster cables.

Earlier this week, a leaked Toys R Us catalog showed an upcoming $50 USD Wii price cut, and just yesterday, a leaked newspaper circular showed a Best Buy ad with the same price cut and a September 27th date.

Today, Kotaku is reporting that Nintendo is finally officially confirming the price drop, saying so during a retailer conference call.

The "official" date is infact the 27th and Nintendojo says they had someone listening to the call, despite Nintendo not going public with the information just yet.

We shall see this week.

According to a PreCentral report, the GSM model of the popular Palm Pre smartphone should be coming soon, at least sometime in the "autumn."

Previous reports had pegged the phone as being launched vaguely as "before the end of 2009."

The O2 website in Germany shows the Pre as "Exklusiv ab Herbst bei O2," meaning "autumn," and PreCentral thinks late October is the likely launch date.

Updates coming when official date, as well as price are announced.

According to Electronista, the Microsoft Zune HD is seeing extremely high sales so far since its launch on Tuesday, with many big retailers already seeing backorders or complete sell outs.

Dell customers have to wait until November for their pre-order Zunes to ship, and dell has even offered another $20 USD off the purchase price to keep people happy.

The 32GB model at Amazon is backordered for 1-3 weeks, and the 16GB model appears to be headed there soon as well.

Best Buy is backordered in both models and Fry's is completely sold out of the 16GB unit.

However, the official Microsoft store is selling both models with no supply constraints.

You can read our review on the player here: Unboxing the Zune HD and Zune software 4

According to the Chinese-language Commercial Times, the PC giants HPand Dell have made orders for 3D notebooks from parts maker Wistron, who is also currently in negotiations with Lenovo and Sony for a similar orders.

Interestingly, Wistron's 3D notebooks uses 3D systems from their own patents, cutting much of the costs of licensing, and leaving the 3D notebooks at a price not much higher than traditional notebooks.

There were little other details, but many expect at least a few of the companies to show off their 3D hardware at the upcoming CES event in January.

We will keep you updated.

Warner Home Video has announced they will be offering Blu-ray Disc revenue-sharing through Rentrak, a company that provides transactional media measurement and analytical services to the entertainment and media industries.

The deal was not fully disclosed, but it seems like rental outlets will have to sign up for Warner's DVD revenue-sharing offer first before they can get the same luxury for BD.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Lionsgate are the only other major studios to offer the BD revenue sharing, but a few indies are said to be contemplating as well, including Summit Home Entertainment, Anchor Bay Entertainment, E1/Koch and Magnolia Home Entertainment.

"Warner has developed an impressive track record with respect to creating and marketing film properties that resonate with the consumer," adds Marty Graham, president of the home entertainment division at Rentrak, via VB. "We are thrilled to be able to offer both Warner's DVD and Blu-ray Disc new release content to retailers participating in our revenue-sharing program."

Currently in Japan there are hundreds of websites that allow for Japanese mobile phone users to download free music, right to their phones, and quickly, depending on the speed of their data networks.

The RIAJ (Recording Industry Association of Japan) wants to put an end to that however and is currently in talks with the Japanese cell phone carriers for a large operation that will shut down the free music sites, or turn them into pay sites, while also taking more control of the mobile handset industry.

The Yomiuri Online says that over 70 million songs are downloaded "legally" every year via mobile phones in Japan, with another 400 million being downloaded from unauthorized sources.

The new operation will work as follows: When a song is downloaded, it is first checked by the mobile phone operator and if it is from a legal source, it is fine. If they are not, users will receive a note that tells them they are "killing the Japanese music industry," and should stop doing so immediately.

Akihabara brings up a good point however when they note that Japanese legal sources are a complete ripoff. The average sell price is 300 Yen per song from legit mobile download servers, an equivalent of just under $3 USD. In America we complain about $1 USD.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski has announced the group will be proposing new rules over net neutrality that will block ISPs from "throttling" any data across their networks.

Last year, the ISP Comcast came under fire after it was found to be intentionally throttling data from torrent downloaders and uploaders, sometimes slowing their speeds down to nothing.

Advocacy groups went on the offensive claiming that if net neutrality laws were not updated, ISPs such as Comcast could eventually throttle legitimate streaming of TV shows and movies, simply because it would compete with Comcast's cable TV services.

The new rules will ban all "throttling" and would apply to wireless service providers through 3G and eventually 4G, as well.

The ISPs say that throttling is a necessary evil as BitTorrent use eats up massive bandwidth thus leaving other users with slower Internet. It is unclear whether this has ever been proved.

Microsoft has started an interesting promotion this week, offering the upcoming Windows 7 operating system to anyone with a valid .edu email for just $30 USD, a giant discount off the OS' normally $100-plus price tag.

The official site, here: Windows 7 offer, has the following instructions:

How do I Buy?

1. Check that your PC can run Windows 7 with the Windows Upgrade Advisor.
2. Enter your college/university email address.
3. If you’re eligible, you’ll receive an email with purchase details.
4. Click on the link provided in the email to proceed with your purchase.
5. Purchase your license/product key.
6. Checkout and download!

Am I Eligible? Yes, if…

√ You qualify if you have a valid .EDU e-mail OR an e-mail address through one of the educational institutions listed here.
√ You are enrolled in coursework, current proof or enrollment may be required in the United States.
√ Your PC is able to run Windows 7 - use this tool to check. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!

There are a couple of catches I saw however, especially compared to the "upgrade" promotion Microsoft has last month. You can only download the 32-bit OR 64-bit digital download for this offer, and the physical disc costs an extra $13. For the physical one, you receive both versions and the disc.

The Internet TV startup company ZillionTV, which was set to launch this month , has been delayed to the Q3 2010, despite full backing by the Hollywood studios.

The company acknowledged that they must change their original plans, as their current strategy will not bring in enough ad revenue.

Says MCN, the company is now "embarking on an "expanded distribution" strategy that will include pilot trials of a direct-to-consumer offering, while maintaining the primary focus on continued partnerships with telcos, CEO Mitch Berman said. In addition, ZillionTV is hoping to land deals with consumer-electronics manufacturers to embed the service into Internet-connected devices."

ZillionTV CEO Mitch Berman added: "Going through [service providers] is a good idea -- we have a motivated partner who can deliver a service with guaranteed quality. But we can't cover the entire country... We can expand in cracks around the country where we don't have partners."

The service has backing from Walt Disney, 20th Century Fox Television, NBC Universal, Sony and Warner Bros as well as Visa and Sigma Designs.

Sony Computer Entertainment Asia president Tetsuhiko Yasuda has noted this week at the GC Asia conference in Singapore that the company will continue its anti-piracy efforts in South-East Asia, and added a strong warning to the governments of those nations where piracy is rampant.

Yasuda specifically commended Singapore, adding: "I would like to extend my gratitude to the solid efforts that the Singapore government has made. However, with just a moment of relaxation in efforts to uphold copyright protection, it's possible that the same old problem will occur again.

"Therefore it is essential for the country to understand that upholding copyright protection is indispensable for the stable development of the software industry."

The president continued on by noting the company's recent deal with Nanyang Polytechnic, which will teach college students how to develop for the PS3.

"In that situation, those students who have made game development their life's dream will suffer the most, and will possibly damage their motivation for creating games," he warned, before requesting that fair treatment should be given to overseas IP as well as that produced locally. Read more...

According to the LATimes, the California Energy Commission is actively considering banning sales of "energy-hungry" HDTVs, setting a new efficiency standard that will help offset the massive energy use in the state.

If the proposal goes through, sales of all non energy-efficient models will be banned by 2011 and even more strict standards will occur in 2013.

The public has a 45-day period to comment on the proposal, beginning Monday, and approval goes to vote in November. If approved, California's electricity consumption will drop enough to save $8.1 billion USD in 10 years.

If approved, the Consumer Electronics Association says about 25 percent of all HDTVs available will have to be removed from store shelves. The group also notes that any would-be customer could simply drive over a state and buy a non-restricted TV if they choose to however.

VideoBusiness has posted a new leaked newspaper circular that shows that Nintendo will drop the price of the Wii console to $199 USD, a $50 cut off its launch day retail price of $250.

Earlier this week, we reported that a leaked Toys 'R' Us ad showed the price drop, but nothing was confirmed.

The new Best Buy ad shows the price cut coming on September 27th.

Despite the leaks, a Nintendo spokesperson still added that “Nintendo does not respond to rumors and speculation.”

The price cut follows the recent slashes by Sony and Microsoft, each of which dropped the price of their consoles to $299 and have seen a recent boost in sales.

The founders of the Internet phone company Skype have sued eBay today, alleging that the auction giant broke copyright law when they altered and shared the P2P source code behind the software.

Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, the billionaire founders of the software, filed the copyright lawsuit this week. eBay purchased Skype for over $3 billion USD in 2005 but the founders retained ownership of the source code and licensed it to eBay for use.

The founders are seeking an injunction as well as statutory damages that could reach as high as the billions. They two men already filed a similar suit earlier this year in the UK which is expected to go to trial in 2010.

eBay recently announced they would sell most of Skype to a group of private investors for $1.9 billion USD and it is unclear whether the suits will block or delay the sale.

“Litigation often will delay a deal, and there is often a lot of pressure on companies to settle litigation in advance of a deal,” added Michael Klausner, a Stanford Law professor.

Microsoft has confirmed another 250GB Xbox 360 bundle, this time for the UK.

Yesterday the company revealed a Modern Warfare 2 bundle for the US, costing $399 USD.

The UK bundle will include the game Forza Motorsport 3 and will come with the console, a headset, the 250GB HDD, two wireless controllers and will retail for £249.

The Redmond giant also stated it will not sell the HDD separately as it currently does with its 120GB drive.

Unboxing the Zune HD media player and Zune software 4.0

Last week, the would-be Pirate Bay buyer Global Gaming Factory X (GGF), was kicked out of the Swedish stock exchange Aktietorget for giving investors false information to exchange regulators.

Shares in the company had been halted for some time even before the ticker was kicked, as Aktietorget said the company "lacks the ability to inform its stockholders in a correct, relevant and credible way."

Today however, GGF has made a comeback, this time on the Mangoldlistan Swedish stock exchange. The Mangoldlistan only lists seven companies however, and is run by a securities broker firm.

Questions still remain as to whether GGF has sufficient funds to acquire The Pirate Bay. In August, GGF bid 60 million Swedish kronor ($8.6 million USD) for the troubled public torrent tracker.

Via the band's official website, Smashing Pumpkins lead singer Billy Corgan has announced that the band's upcoming album, Teargarden by Kaleidyscope will be released completely free, and feature 44 tracks.

The songs will be completely free through the band's website and will not even require an email address to download.

Says Corgan: "Each song will be made available absolutely for free, to anyone anywhere. There will be no strings attached. Free will mean free, which means you won't have to sign up for anything, give an email address, or jump through a hoop. You will be able to go and take the song or songs as you wish, as many times as you wish."

In order to make money, the band will sell "highly limited edition EP's (of 4 songs each times 11)." The EPs will come with art and will serve as "collectors items" for long time fans, adds Corgan.

The band may "also offer other variations for sale, say for example a digital single with a demo version of a song."

Corgan oncludes: The commitment that is most important is the one I'm making to you: that the music of 'Teargarden by Kaleidyscope' will be available for free to everyone. All 44 songs: free for ALL.

According to the Kindle Nation Daily blog, the Amazon Kindle edition of the new Dan Brown novel The Lost Symbol is outselling its hardcover counterpart, an interesting development.

It is important to note however that the hardcover has been on sale, via pre-order, for 150 days already and it would appear that most excited buyers put in there orders sometime during that period. The Kindle edition is also significantly cheaper.

The whole situation is interesting to note however, as the Kindle edition is outselling any book available at Amazon, whether in print or digital, a good sign for the device, which many have called overly expensive for its functionality.

According to the android-developers blog, the latest Android firmware update SDK, dubbed Donut and officially version 1.6, is now available for download.

Quick Search Box

Well on the way to profitability and its 1 billion user goal, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has posted today on his blog that the site has reached 300 million users today, as well as gone "cash flow positive."

Zuckerberg added however that 300 million is just the beginning and the site "is just getting started on our goal of connecting everyone."

Perhaps more interestingly is the fact that the site is now profitable, much earlier than expected. "Earlier this year, we said we expected to be cash flow positive sometime in 2010," Zuckerberg added. "And I'm pleased to share that we achieved this milestone last quarter."

You can read the full Facebook post here: 300 Million and On by Mark Zuckerberg

The Dutch-based retailer Nedgame has posted on its website that they refuse to stock the new PSP Go handheld, citing a few reasons as to why they will not.

According to the site, they will continue to support the PSP-3000 model in "abundance" but they will not stock the Go, ever.

The reasons the retailer posted for not stocking the Go are as follows (original text was in Dutch):

- The Go has a much higher MSRP, at 249 euro compared to 169 euro for the 3000 model.

- No UMD drive means games MUST be purchased through Sony, at a price determined by Sony.

- No chance of reselling the games or trading with friends.

- No chance of buying the games cheaper, used.

- No way to play imported games (US, EU, J)

- All games you "virtually" purchase become "virtually worthless" after the purchase.

Blockbuster has announced it will be closing up to 1000 of its retail stores over the next 15 months in an effort to cut costs and "improve four-wall profitability".

The SEC filing states that the video rental company will be closing most unprofitable locations, which account for about 15 percent of the company's 7000 overall stores.

About 300 stores will be closed this year as "normal closures" and another 350 will be closed as "accelerated closures." Next year will see about 100 "normal closures" and another 150 "accelerated closures." The overall number will total 900-1000.

"All these stores are candidate stores," said Blockbuster spokesperson Randy Hargrove, via CNet. "Although we may in fact close that many stores, if we can renegotiate leases or remodel stores to make them more profitable, that number might go down."

At the same time, Blockbuster kiosks are expected to grow to 10,000 by the end of 2010, from their current 500.

Infinity Ward, the developer behind the much anticipated Modern Warfare 2, has confirmed tonight that Microsoft is planning a 250GB Xbox 360 Elite that will bundle the game along with a custom colorway.

The Modern Warfare 2 Limited Edition bundle will include the larger capacity console, the game and two wireless controllers, and will cost $399 USD.

There was no word on when the console would hit stores but the game is set for early November release.

Google has updated their Chrome browser this week to a stable version 3.0, and also announced that an official Mac version will be available before the end of the year.

Chrome has been on the market for almost one year now, and has seen quick upgrades, mainly speed tweaks as well as compatibility updates. In comparison, Mozilla Firefox has been around for over five years and is currently in working version 3.5.

The browser market is still dominated by Internet Explorer, which (with combining versions 6,7,8), has about 67 percent market share. Firefox, Chrome and Safari have been taking share steadily however, and IE's share has degraded from 95 percent in 2003. Chrome currently has just under 3 percent market share.

"If at the two-year birthday we're not at least 5 percent (market share), I will be exceptionally disappointed. And if at the three year birthday we're not at 10 percent, I will be exceptionally disappointed," added Chrome Engineering Director Linus Upson.

Despite his public goals, Upson says Google's internal goals are even more steep.

Ben Creasey, VidZone's head of production, has announced the update of the service, and the inclusion of a good number of improvements.

The full list of improvements, via the Europe PSN blog:

Pre-roll advertising will be shown no more than once every 15 minutes – No more adverts after every video, guaranteed!

16:9 support, true full screen display – This means that if the video is shot in widescreen, it will display in its full widescreen glory on your TV.

Virtual Keyboard is now supported in Search – Use your external or the standard PlayStation virtual keyboard to type instead of scrolling through each letter.

VidZone Search is faster and improved – Faster searching and you are now able to search for special characters (ie you can now search for P!nk etc)

Start up time is reduced – No more waiting about to get partying!

Audio volume on music videos can now be normalized – Each video will play at the same volume meaning no more volume control surfing Read more...

Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha has noted this week that the handset maker is currently in talks with other U.S. carriers in an effort to sell the new Cliq Android phone on a carrier besides T-Mobile.

Most analysts and speculators believe the second carrier will be Verizon Wireless but Jha stayed mostly mum on the subject.

Added Jha: The company is "in talks with all large operators in U.S. and is fairly hopeful we will begin to engage with all the U.S. operators."

Jha also noted again that a new Android phone is in the works, and should be launched within the next two months.

The company recently announced that the same phone, dubbed the Dext however, and with some subtle differences, will hit the UK via the carrier Orange beginning later this month as well, with pre-orders beginning on the 22nd.

The Dext will also be headed to South America and the rest of the EU, added the company, but just like with the US Cliq release, there is no set time table.

As is now standard, the phone has 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS, a 5MP camera, and a 3.1-inch 480x360 resolution touchscreen as well as QWERTY keypad. Notably, the device is lacking the trackball found on most Android devices.

France's lower house has today approved the extremely controversial "three-strikes" law for Internet pirates, giving authorities the power to disconnect multiple time offenders from the Internet completely.

The media industry has been behind the bill in the UK, France and other nations for some time now, but strong criticism, from groups who claim the bill will threaten our civil liberties, has kept it as just a bill for over a year now.

The French Culture Ministry has said they expect about 1000 French Internet users to be kicked offline, every day, if the bill becomes law. Besides being disconnected, pirates also face a fine as high as euro 300,000 (about $440,000 USD).

Unknowing parents whose kids use the family computer to download unauthorized content are also subject to the law, which will have the family's Internet cut off for a month along with a euro 3,750 fine.

The National Assembly voted to pass the bill with a final tally of 285-225 in favor.

Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand added: "Artists will remember that we at last had the courage to break with the laissez-faire approach and protect their rights from people who want to turn the net into their libertarian utopia."

According to a new Arstechnica report, a few iPhone users have had their MMS enabled via AT&T, a couple of weeks prior to the expected rollout launch date of September 25th.

You can check by heading to Settings > General > Network and then checking to see if you have a "Cellular Data Network" menu. You can also look in the native text messaging app, and check for a camera icon.

AT&T delayed the MMS rollout to make sure the "network was ready to handle a record volume of MMS traffic." They also noted that if you already pay for SMS, MMS would be added free of charge.

Pic via Ars:

According to TmoNews, T-Mobile will begin taking pre-orders for the much-hyped Motorola Cliq on October 19th in the United States, with actual release date set most likely for around November 10th.

On average, T-Mobile begins pre-orders three weeks before official release date.

The source has the leaked ad page, but that should be enough for time being.

The company recently announced that the same phone, dubbed the Dext however, and with some subtle differences, will hit the UK via the carrier Orange beginning later this month as well, with pre-orders beginning on the 22nd.

The Dext will also be headed to South America and the rest of the EU, added the company, but just like with the US Cliq release, there is no set time table.

As is now standard, the phone has 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS, a 5MP camera, and a 3.1-inch 480x360 resolution touchscreen as well as QWERTY keypad. Notably, the device is lacking the trackball found on most Android devices.

LG Electronics has announced the launch of their first ever Android-based mobile phone, the LG-GW620.

The LG-GW620 has a 3-inch touchscreen and a full slider QWERTY keyboard. The camera is 5MP but otherwise, details were scarce.

“The LG-GW620 will appeal to first-time smartphone customers by offering a new and different kind of user experience,” adds Dr. Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company via the press release. “Our objective is to provide a wide selection of smartphones to satisfy the diverse preferences of today’s consumers. This Android phone is just one of many smartphone models we plan to introduce worldwide in the years ahead.”

Interestingly, the press release spoke more about LG's upcoming Windows Mobile-based smartphones, which will use 6.5 and should be out before the end of the year.

The LG-GW620 will hit the EU in the Q4, with no US date set.

Last week we reported that sources were claiming a 250GB model of the new Slim PS3 was "a definite by October," and a source speaking to EuroGamer today seems to corroborate that report.

The 250GB model, says the source, will come in three separate bundles, with the first being released in the UK in late October.

The first will be an Uncharted 2 bundle, which will be released when the game is released, on October 23rd. The second, in Spain, will be released with FIFA 10. The last will include wither Assassin's Creed 2 or GT5, neither of which will be released until late November.

The bundles in the UK will cost £299.99.

Sony declined to comment on speculation.

According to their official web store, Apple has slashed the price of their 160GB model Apple TV while at the same time killing the lower capacity 40GB model.

The 160GB model now sells for $229, what the 40GB model was selling for, and will be the only model available for the time being.

The price drop follows recent predictions by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, which reported in a note to clients that the 40GB model looked to be phasing out, and that he believed a price cut was coming in the 160GB, most likely at the 'Rock and Roll' live event. It happened less then a week later.

Munster also said a major interface upgrade should be coming soon, most likely based on an iTunes subscription service. The analyst also believes a new Apple TV hardware is in the works, with no set timetable, that will include DVR capabilities.

Adds Munster, originally via Apple Insider, "Apple could leverage its deep library of content with many network and cable channel content owners to provide unlimited access to a sub-library of its TV shows for a standard monthly fee ($30 or $40 per month). Such a product would effectively replace a consumer's monthly cable bill (~$85/month) and offer access to current and older episodes of select shows on select channels."

The popular bands Blur and Radiohead have teamed up to fight the British government's plan to begin "three strikes" laws against Internet pirates, one that has pirates kicked off the Internet for downloading unauthorized music three times.

The FAC (Featured Artists Coalition), will represent the "best interests" of the recording artists, and believes that file sharing in fact is better for the artist, as it encourages concert ticket sales and merchandising. The FAC does conceit that file sharing hurts record sales however.

The Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien adds: “My generation grew up with the point of view that you pay for your music. Every generation has a different method.

"File sharing is like a sampler, like taping your mate’s music. You go, ‘I like that, I’ll go and buy the album’. Or, ‘you know what, I’ll go and see them live’. What’s going on is a huge paradigm shift.”

Blur drummer Dave Rowntree also added: “The fact that file sharing goes on, and is as popular as it is, is an incredibly positive thing for the music industry. The fact is that music is so popular that people are willing to break the law to get it."

All the bands in the group add that file sharing is bringing their music to new generations of fans, those that did not grow up with a radio, and instead grew up with the Internet.

Albert Gonzalez, the 28 year old hacker accused of stealing and reselling over 170 million credit and ATM card numbers, has pleaded guilty this week to identity theft, wire fraud, computer fraud and conspiracy among 20 counts.

Gonzalez will also forfeit his Miami condo, a 2006 BMW 330i, thousands of dollars in jewelry and $2.7 million USD in cash.

Sentencing is set for December 8th, and Gonzalez is expected to be given 20 years, the maximum for his charges.

The hacker stole the credit card numbers using sql injection and packet sniffer malware software to create backdoors into the corporate systems of retailer chains TJX Companies, BJ's Wholesale Club, OfficeMax, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority and Dave & Buster's. Gonazalez and two other conspirators also used wardriving, hacking using accessible Wi-Fi in retail stores. One of the conspirators is 7-foot-tall Stephen Watt, a Morgan Stanley investment banker who wrote the sniffing programs.

The three hackers would then sell the numbers or encode the data onto magnetic strips of blank ATM cards, using them to withdraw thousands of dollars from ATM machines.

According to a Financial Post report, Canadian carrier Rogers will be bringing the newly launched Motorola Cliq Android phone to Canada in 2010.

"There will be a Motorola Android device in our portfolio in 2010," says Rogers Wireless president Rob Bruce.

Motorola is planning more Android phones, but it seems likely Rogers will be launching the Cliq.

The company recently announced that the same phone, dubbed the Dext however, and with some subtle differences, will hit the UK via the carrier Orange beginning later this month as well, with pre-orders beginning on the 22nd.

The Dext will also be headed to South America and the rest of the EU, added the company, but just like with the US Cliq release, there is no set time table.

As is now standard, the phone has 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS, a 5MP camera, and a 3.1-inch 480x360 resolution touchscreen as well as QWERTY keypad. Notably, the device is lacking the trackball found on most Android devices.

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has announced they will be expanding their Blu-ray 'Diamond Collection', adding 12 new titles including The Lion King, Bambi, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, The Jungle Book, 101 Dalmatians and Pinocchio.

The 'Diamond' collection is considered the studio's high-end BD line, just like the 'Platinum' collection was for standard DVD.

The releases will be staggered, two per calender year, with Fantasia and Beauty and the Beast set for 2010. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs will be the first Diamond available, hitting shelves on October 6th. Just like the Platinum collection before it, each Diamond title will include a plethora of new bonus features and will only be available in limited quantities for a limited period.

One of the bonus features for Snow WHite, as explained by VideoBusiness is "‘Magic Mirror,’ which the studio touts as its first use of artificial intelligence in a film. The Blu-ray-exclusive technology recognizes viewing patterns and suggests where viewers should go next in the film for an overall personal experience."

“Walt Disney’s gift of telling captivating and engaging stories was matched only by his passion for presenting them in the most spectacular way,” adds Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios. “We are proud to continue his pursuit of excellence with ‘The Diamond Collection,’ which brings the films that are the foundation of our company to audiences of all ages across the globe.”

Toy retailer Toys "R" Us has announced the launch of a videogame trade-in program, one that will be available in all of its stores throughout the US.

The program itself will be similar to that of GameStop's, as well as Best Buy's, who accept games via vending machines or through sales desks.

Gift cards for the chain are given in exchange for the used games, which can be from literally every system you own, including Atari 2600, PlayStation, PlayStation2, Xbox, Nintendo Game Boy, Nintendo 64, Nintendo NES, Intellivision and Sega Genesis.

"The video game trade-in program is another way we're providing customers with additional value when they visit our stores," added Bill Lee, the company's VP and divisional merchandise manager. "This program is designed to make the exchange process completely hassle-free for customers by accepting games from even the oldest systems."

The trade-in program beings today, with ads circulating in newspapers and online.

INQ Mobile, the phone maker owned by UK-based carrier Hutchison Whampoa, has announced that it will begin offering Android phones starting next year, the latest in a long line of handset makers which have begun or are planning to offer the Google phones.

There wasn't much more details given about the Android phones, but CEO Frank Meehan, according to Moco, seems very excited for the possibilities brought forth by the Android platform.

“When you look at who do you select, you come to Android” and “currently Android phones on networks that are selling against the iPhone have not performed well. You need to get the experience better.”

We will keep you updated.

In 1992, the Software & Information Industry Association (previously the SPA), released the now infamous (and frankly ridiculous) Don't copy that floppy anti-piracy propaganda video, warning against the dangers of copying software and games. The video features a dancing rapper by the name of MC Double Def DP (Disc Protector).

This month, the group has released the long-awaited sequel, dubbed Don't Copy That 2, and it is available on YouTube in full HD glory. The video remains extremely corny, just like the original, but this time features a college kid who downloads and burns all the latest music albums. There is also a SWAT team and Klingons.

Well worth the watch and the laugh if nothing else. It's not just a copy it's a crime!

On Thursday, Motorola unveiled their first Android phone, the Motorola Cliq, which is to sell in the US via T-Mobile.

The mobile phone company has announced today that the same phone, dubbed the Dext however, and with some subtle differences, will hit the UK via the carrier Orange beginning later this month as well, with pre-orders beginning on the 22nd.

The Dext will also be headed to South America and the rest of the EU, added the company, but just like with the US Cliq release, there is no set time table.

As is now standard, the phone has 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS, a 5MP camera, and a touchscreen as well as QWERTY keypad. Notably, the device is lacking the trackball found on most Android devices.

Official specs say the phone uses Android 1.5, but rumor has it the device will ship with 2.0, Google's upcoming promised firmware upgrade.

Qualcomm has announced that their MediaFLO wireless broadcast network will be headed to portable media players such as MP3 players soon, as well as into car systems.

The network uses former analog TV channels and sends digital TV signals to select mobile handsets from carriers AT&T and Verizon. The service costs $15 USD a month and users get 12 or 13 stations.

Qualcomm COO Len Lauer says however that he is not satisfied with consumer adoption of the product so far, and wants to expand into media devices and cars. "We need to be on a lot more devices," Lauer added.

For in-car entertainment, Qualcomm has signed a deal with Audiovox to bring the FLO TV channels to LCDs in cars. Lauer says there are currently 25 million vehicles in the US with LCD video screens in their cars.

Lauer does not stop there however: "You'll see us come out with an MP3-like device fairly soon that also has a full FLO TV capability," Lauer noted, via Yahoo Tech. Accessories are being created to make connectivity easier for existing phones and devices.

According to AndroLib, the popular website used to browse Android Market apps from your PC, the relatively new Market has just hit 10,000 applications, a strong milestone for the platform.

In comparison however, Apple CEO Steve Jobs recently announced that the iPhone App Store has over 75,000 applications available as well as 1.8 billion downloads so far.

Checking AndroLib's statistics page, we can see that the 10k milestone was recently hit, with a good majority of the applications (65 percent) being free.

NPD has released their latest U.S. video game industry numbers, for the month of August, with PS3 hardware sales seeing a bump due to the Slim PS3 but with software and other consoles seeing strong declines.

Overall, the combined industry (hardware, software, accessories) saw a 16 percent year-on-year decline to $908 million USD. August saw a slight improvement from July however, when full revenue fell to $849 million USD.

Hardware sales fell 25 percent YOY, to $298 million, up just under 10 percent from July's low. The DSi and DS Lite remained on top, with the Wii coming in second and the Xbox 360 and PS3 almost identical in third and fourth. The PSP lagged far behind. Full stats:

Full Hardware Numbers

Sharp has announced they have created a blue-violet semiconductor laser that can read and write up to quadruple-layer (100GB) Blu-ray discs.

The laser has optical output of up to 500mW, much higher than current capacities. According to Tech-On, the laser has "an oscillation wavelength of 405nm and a capability of writing at 8x speed on triple- and quadruple-layer Blu-ray discs."

There was no word on when Sharp will begin mass producing the laser, but they have begun producing a 320mW maximum output semiconductor laser just 3 months ago.

Tech-On explains how the new laser works: "Sharp enhanced the optical output by using a new method of processing the edge face of a resonator. Normally, the edge face of a crystal in a semiconductor laser is protected by a dielectric film. This time, the company formed an aluminum oxynitride (AlON) film between the edge face of the semiconductor laser and the dielectric film by a sputtering method and realized an epitaxial growth where the growth axis of the laser's crystal corresponds to that of the AlON crystal."

Arstechnica has been in touch with Microsoft over recent rumors that the Zune HD will be a US-exclusive, and unfortunately for those hoping for an international release, the rumors happen to be true.

Says the Redmond-based behemoth: "For the time being the Zune HD device will remain US-only. Right now we are focused on deploying an exciting service in the form of Zune Video to 18 markets. We are looking at potential future hardware experiences for these markets, but do not have anything to announce right now."

The move follows that of the original hard-drive based Zune, which was released in America in 2006 and nowhere else until it hit Canada in 2008.

The upcoming Zune HD device features a 3.3-inch OLED touchscreen with 480 x 272 resolution and 16:9 display. It will also include HD radio, Wi-Fi, and 720p HD output via HDMI.

Following the guilty plea of one, and the conviction of a second, four more members of the pre-release piracy group RNS have been indicted on charges of conspiring to commit copyright infringement for their roles in uploading pre-release music, sometimes weeks before the the CD's official street date.

RNS, one of the older groups on the "scene," was started in 1999 by Adil R. Cassim, who even then was distributing music online and RNS grew in reputation as a "pre-release" group.

"The supply of pre-release music was often provided by music industry insiders, such as employees of compact disc manufacturing plants, radio stations, and retailers, who typically receive advance copies of music prior to its commercial release," reads the court documents, via Ars.

It is unclear how many albums the uploaders are accused of sharing, but the US DOJ says the amount of tracks distributed is in the thousands. Each group member had a different task, such as ripping, encoding, server management, and of course, the obtaining of the actual CD before the release date.

According to a Eurogamer report, UK retailers have told the site that a 250GB model of the new Slim PS3 is a "definite" by October.

The unrevealed source says the model will be bundled with one or two games, but those are unknown for time being. The bundle should be unveiled later this month, at the Tokyo Game Show, adds the source.

A different UK retailer noted that consumers will get a bundle with either Assassin's Creed II, Gran Turismo 5 or Uncharted 2, three games set to be blockbuster hits. In Spain, a 250GB PS3 Slim bundle with FIFA 10 has been leaked as well, and will cost EUR 350.

Sony has declined to speculate on rumor, just like they did about the PSP Go and the Slim PS3.

DivX has made a licensing agreement today with Panasonic for the next-generation DivX Plus HD technology.

The technology will then be incorporated into Panasonic's UniPhier semiconductor chips which will be placed in HDTVs, Blu-ray players, and other devices that will playback "Plus HD H.264 video in the MKV container at high-definition resolutions up to 1080p."

With the new certification, the devices will play MKV files with AAC audio, created by most softwares, including DivX's own DivX 7.

Motorola has announced their first Android smartphone, the Cliq, which will be available for T-Mobile users and will feature touchscreen slider hardware.

Making the phone unique is its use of MOTOBLUR as a UI, which has customized home screen widgets for social status, weather, messaging and more, without the need to open separate apps.

All info is synced online and is easily resynced even if the phone is lost and then replaced.

As is now standard, the phone has 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS, a 5MP camera, and a touchscreen as well as QWERTY keypad. Notably, the device is lacking the trackball found on most Android devices.

Official specs say the phone uses Android 1.5, but rumor has it the device will ship with 2.0, Google's upcoming promised firmware upgrade.

In August, RealNetworks submitted their Rhapsody app to Apple's App Store, and today it has finally been approved, bringing the music subscription service to iPhone and iPod Touch users.

The approval marks the first time Apple has allowed an on-demand streaming service in the United States. Recently, the company approved of Spotify for European users.

Rhapsody subscribers have to pay $14.99 USD a month to get the unlimited streaming service, but the app itself will be free. The service has over 8 million tracks, and users will be able to stream wherever there is cell service or Wi-Fi.

The service will eventually be updated to cache songs for playback when there is no Internet available.

Adds Neil Smith, vice president of business management for Rhapsody America: The new app will "reach the iPod Touch and iPhone audience that was unavailable to us before."

Notably however, the songs will stream at a lowly 64 kbps, hardly "CD-quality."

Sony's latest Blu-ray player, the BDP-N460, will add for the first time, streaming video and audio, from Netflix, YouTube and Slacker.

The company does note however that regardless of what TV you have attached the wireless will work better with a Linksys WET610N Ethernet-to-Wi-Fi bridge.

The player has oboard decoding of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, is BD-Live compliant, and will output HDMI Deep Color. The player can read photos and MP3s off USB drives and will upscale DVDs and AVCHD videos.

The BDP-N460 will begin shipping in October, with a price tag of $250 USD, the same price as other BD players with similar specs, and $50 cheaper than the PS3.

LG has announced that their BD390 Blu-ray player will now support VUDU video streaming, following a firmware update.

VUDU offers over 2200 movies and TV shows in SD or 1080p HD and 5.1-channel audio.

The player now supports Netflix, VUDU, CinemaNow and YouTube.

The BD390 has been applauded for fast loading times, 1GB of onboard memory, as well as its ability to play DivX video files off a USB drive.

The BD player retails for $379.99 USD from most retailers.

Microsoft and the large UK retailer Tesco have announced they will be teaming up to provide a new "DVD-quality" movie downloading service that uses Silverlight technology.

Beginning this fall, any Tesco customer who purchases certain DVDs will receive a free "digital copy" of the movie that they can download to their Macs or Windows machines.

In addition to the film, the digital copies will also bring "extra network-connected features such as auto-updated trailers, exclusive bonus content, movie viewing parties with online chat, related music offerings such as MP3s and ring tones, and networked games."

"Tesco is excited to be the first retailer to partner with a broad range of major movie studios to offer this next-generation movie experience," said Rob Salter of Tesco. "For the first time, consumers will be able to enjoy a DVD equivalent experience with digital movies, which paves the way for more advanced viewing experiences enabled through Silverlight."

"This is just the beginning. In the future we expect to offer our customers innovative digital solutions that far exceed the DVD experience and deliver exclusive content, Web events and services wherever and whenever they want them," Salter added.

After Sony recently integrated the BBC iPlayer into the version 3.0 PlayStation 3 firmware update, it has now become the second most popular viewing platform, behind the PC.

The BBC says 10 percent of all iPlayer traffic comes from PS3 accounts, surpassing the Mac, which holds 8.5 percent of all traffic.

"User response to our new iPlayer for PS3 has been amazing," adds Anthony Rose, controller of the BBC's online media group and vision.

"Although it's less than a week since we launched, iPlayer on PS3 now accounts for a massive 10 per cent of all iPlayer viewing, overtaking Mac to be our second most popular platform for IP-delivered content.

"We'll have to wait and see whether this holds up in the coming weeks, but this enthusiastic reception makes it clear that users do want iPlayer on their TV - something that bodes well for Canvas and other IPTV propositions."

PS3 users can playback iPlayer content full screen, at 25fps, due to an upgrade in the PS3's Flash playback abilities.

Apple, speaking at their "Rock n' Roll" live event today, introduced iTunes 9 and with it, a plethora of new features.

The first addition is that of Genius mixes. Apple CEO Steve Jobs explains that the Genius library now has 27 million libraries built from 54 billion analyzed tracks, which will create Genius Mixes, personal radio stations similar to Pandora.

The Genius also works for movies and even applications you have downloaded from the iTunes store.

The second improvement was improved Syncing, as Apple says, for when "you sync to your iPod Touch or iPhone we have made that much better." Users can now choose select playlists, artists, genres, and photos from certain events, certain albums or even photos that only include certain faces. Movies have been give a "recently added" and you can manually choose favorites.

Additionally, Home Sharing makes it easy for users to sync an iTunes library between up to 5 computers in a house. All authorized computers can share music, movies and TV shows between them, and will be viewed as part of a shared group where users can drag and drop content from one library to another.

According to Eldar Murtazin of Mobile-review, the newly launched Xperia X2 may be the last Sony Ericsson phone to use Windows Mobile, as the company moves on to Symbian and Android only.

On his Twitter page, Murtzain says "SE denied to support WM in future, X2 possible the last one WM device (one more in development but could be canceled).Sales forecast is bad."

It can be implied by the Tweet, that it appears WinMo phones will not sell well in the future, or at least the company does not believe so.

The leaked yet unreleased SE Satio (Symbian s60) and SE Xperia Rachael (Android) are expected to be launched by the end of the year.

Pandora Radio , the extremely popular streaming music service, is now available for Android handsets, allowing users to create "stations" based on their favorite musicians, songs or composers.

Current Pandora users will already be fully integrated, all existing stations will be saved, as well as bookmarks. You can create new ones through your handsets.

Pandora creates the stations using analysis from the Music Genome Project which is "together we set out to capture the essence of music at the most fundamental level. We ended up assembling literally hundreds of musical attributes or "genes" into a very large Music Genome. Taken together these genes capture the unique and magical musical identity of a song - everything from melody, harmony and rhythm, to instrumentation, orchestration, arrangement, lyrics, and of course the rich world of singing and vocal harmony. It's not about what a band looks like, or what genre they supposedly belong to, or about who buys their records - it's about what each individual song sounds like."

The ai.rs blog has revealed the Samsung i5700 Galaxy Lite, a "lite" version of company's first Android phone, the Galaxy.

The Lite has a flashless 3.2MP camera and 1GB of memory, very "lite" compared to 5MP and 8GB for its brother.

All other specs seem to be the same, including the touch AMOLED screen.

Pics and vid from the blog:

In June, the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) began investigating whether Microsoft's decision to slow sales of XP in favor of Vista was a violation of competition laws.

This week, regulators have dropped the investigation, allowing Microsoft to freely continue selling their products as they please.

Other parts of the investigation included why some retailers paid a different price for XP or Vista then other retailers.

Russian users who want to still use XP, Microsoft will begin exchange programs for Vista to XP, from this week until the end of 2009.

According to PreCentral, beginning on October 31st the Palm Pre will begin selling in some areas for $150 USD, a 25 percent price cut off its current price tag.

The discount will be available through third-party retailers such as Best Buy but not directly through Sprint, the exclusive carrier.

The 3G capable phone has a 3.1-inch touchscreen with 480x320 resolution and a slider design which hides a full QWERTY keyboard. More notably, the phone uses Palm's own WebOS Linux-based operating system, which offers multitasking for applications and "Synergy" for contacts integration.

The Pre, despite selling well, must compete in a market full of other smartphones including the iPhone and a number of Android, Symbian and WinMo phones.

Sony Europe has confirmed that four games will be added to the PS3 Platinum line, which sell for GBP 19.99 or less.

The games are Motorstorm: Pacific Rift, Killzone 2, Resistance 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4, all of which sold minimum 400,000 units.

The official release date is not yet known, however October seems most likely. Many of the games already sell for close to the new MSRP.

Current 'Platinum' games are Assassin's Creed, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction, all of which were top sellers.

Gi.biz notes that an Amazon UK listing shows Grand Theft Auto IV will also join the Platinum line soon and is already selling for £16.99 via preorder.

Deutsche Telekom AG and France Telecom SA have announced they intend to merge their UK mobile phone divisions, creating the largest mobile operator in the region.

The divisions, T-Mobile and Orange UK, will join as a 50/50 venture. Analysts believe the merger will benefit all UK mobile operators, which will no longer have to continously cut prices just to stay competitive.

"This is another sign that we may be moving into a period of sustained M&A activity as firms look to realize cost savings through consolidation," notes Mark Priest, a trader at ETX Capital in London, via the AP.

Combined, the companies would have 28.4 million subscribers, just over 35 percent of total UK mobile subscribers. The current leader is O2, at 27 percent market share, followed by Vodafone at 25 percent share.

Both companies did say however that some redundancies may have to be cut, leading to job losses.

The deal should be signed in October and finalized by January given it passes anti-trust statutes.

Mexican police have raided the offices of Sony Music in Mexico City this week, seizing master recordings, albums, and cover art of the Grammy award winning artist Alejandro Fernández.

The police were working from a court order.

Fernández spent the first 10 years of his career signed to Sony Music, but left in 2008 for a new deal with Universal. Sony was taking unreleased material from the popular singer, and making an album with it, even though the singer is no longer part of the label. Fernández believes Sony has no right to do so and received the court order.

"Sony assumed that they could take tracks that weren't part of previous albums and release them as an eighth album, as if it were new material, over which they had rights," said Jose Luis Caballero, Fernández's attorney. "It's perfectly clear that the company's contract is limited to seven albums."

During the raid, police seized almost 6500 CDs, master recordings and cover art.

Sony called the raid "surprising and disappointing" and adds "we trust that the Mexican courts will confirm our rights as soon as possible."

Philips has announced during the recent IFA event that they will be the latest company to go 3D, adding the third dimension to their Philips Cinema 21:9 HDTV.

"The technology is ready, but the content is not there yet," said Philips Consumer Lifestyle CEO Andrea Ragnetti. "It has to be based on what consumers really want and currently it is not clear if consumers actually want to wear glasses to watch TV or want it without."

A different spokesperson did add that "3D TV is the ultimate dream for consumers", and Philips decision follows that of Sony and Panasonic.

One glaring difference however, is that Philips is said to be favoring strereoscopic glasses, instead of active shutter glasses like its rival brands.

According to a new report from psychologist Dr. Tracy Alloway, war video games, as well as the game Sudoku, could possibly enhance "working memory," a vital element for lifelong success.

On the other hand, using Twitter, YouTube or spending prolonged time texting will weaken that same "working memory."

Working memory, by definition, is the brain's ability to retain information and use it. Dr. Alloway is an expert in working memory and has concluded in past studies that it is key to success and happiness, even more so than IQ. During job interviews, explains Alloway, candidates with better working memory, will answer questions in a more "impressive" way.

The conclusion came after Alloway began a working memory training program for "slower" learning middle school children, and says in just eight weeks, the children collectively saw on average a "10 point improvements in IQ, literacy and numeracy tests."

In terms of video games, war games, which normally contain planning and strategy, such as the "Total War" series, says Alloway, will train working memory.

"I'm not saying they're good for your socialization skills, but they do make you use your working memory," she added, via the BBC. "You're keeping track of past actions and mapping the actions you're going to take."

Starz has announced the VOD release of the Rob Zombie film The Haunted World of El Superbeasto, testing a new method in which the company debuts the films via on-demand weeks before it premiers in theaters or on DVD.

The film will cost $6.99 USD however, if customers choose to watch it earlier.

The Starz Media senior VP of digital media, business development and strategy Marc DeBevoise did note however that the new VOD debut was simply a test, and the company was testing the waters for possible future releases.

“It’s the right timeframe,” DeBevoise said, via VB. “It’s a totally different piece of content than you see anywhere else. We felt this was the one to really experiment it on.”

Horror films have, in the past, performed well on VOD.

According to the latest data from NetApplications, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome have once again gained market share from Internet Explorer, a continuing trend for Firefox since 2003, when IE had over 95 percent market share.

IE is currently at 66.97 percent market share, its lowest ever, while Firefox jumped to 22.98 percent. In third place remained Apple Safari, which remained neutral at 4.07 percent. Chrome moved to over 2.84 percent, the biggest gainer in terms of percentage move. Opera, which recently upgraded to version 10 remained unchanged at 2 percent as well.

Spotify, the unlimited music streaming service, has gone live today for Android and iPhone/iPod Touch owners, allowing European (so far) users to playback over 8 million songs on their devices, for a 10 euro monthly subscription.

Downloading the free app allows you to play the entire catalog, as well as save playlists for an "offline mode" where the songs can be cached and played back when an Internet connection is not available (subway, plane, etc).

The app was approved by Apple just last week, after a lengthy approval process in which many believed the application would be denied as it might take sales away from Apple's iTunes store.

Spotify has received recent investments from major record labels and is now valued at over $200 million USD. Should the service become a hit in the US when it launches later this year, expect the valuation to increase as well.

Sony has announced they will be releasing a two-in-one game for the first time on the PlayStation 3, re-releasing the blockbuster hits God of War and God of War 2 on one Blu-ray Disc

The PS3 team, in a not-so-subtle knock at its rivals, says it would not be possible for the Wii or Xbox 360 to place two complex, HD games like the God of War series on one disc, as they use the lower capacity DVD standard while PS3 games use BD. Dual layer DVDs can hold 8.5GB while a dual-layer Blu-ray disc can hold 50GB.

The GOW1/2 combo will be the first of a few other combo releases coming soon, adds Sony.

“There are gamers who are still holding onto their PS2s, and we are currently evaluating these catalog titles and seeing which ones we can move over to PS3 like we are doing with God of War,” added Kim Nguyen, marketing manager for PS3. “It’s a very unique competitive advantage that we have with Blu-ray Disc. [Others] are limited by the capacity of DVDs.”

The combo game will retail for $39.99 USD.

Redbox, the $1-a-night DVD rental kiosk company, is under fire again this week, this time from independent retailers who claim the company's business model is putting the entire industry at risk.

In other news, a new study by research firm SNL Kagan has suggested that the business model will put VOD companies out of business as well. This is all on top of lawsuits Redbox is currently facing from three major studios Fox, Universal and Warner Entertainment , over the low cost rentals.

The main independent retailer group, The Video Buyers Group, says their retailers are "struggling to compete" and the company is looking to the major studios for support in their campaign against Redbox. VBG is in charge of 1700 shops.

The group will be releasing online, print and TV ads showing that movie studios earn less revenue from the $1 USD rentals, and eventually profitability will begin declining as well.

VBG president Ted Engen even boldly stated the following: “Dollar rental kiosks are to the film industry as the Internet was to the music industry. That’s how bad this thing can get.”

With the upcoming firmware update to 1.6, Google is planning a makeover for its Android Market, one that will focus more on paid applications as well as ease of use.

The market currently has over 8000 applications, but developers and users alike have expressed concerns over the navigation of the market and the apps themselves, which can be less then intuitive.

The updated market will allow developers to add screenshots to their apps, as well as full descriptions. Similarly to the popular Apple App Store, the updated market will also now have tabs for latest apps, top free, and top paid. Four new categories will be added; health, sports, comics and themes, which I'm not sure why they were not included in the first place.

Currently the Android Market generates about $5 million USD per month, while the App Store generates over $200 million. It is unclear when 1.6 will be released.

Via a press release today, Toshiba has put the final nail in HD DVD's coffin, unveiling their first Blu-ray player, the BDX2000.

The full specs read as follows:

* BD-Live(TM) (Profile 2.0)
* 1080p/ 24 fps Full HD Video Output
* AVCHD Playback
* Toshiba REGZA-LINK(R) (HDMI-CEC)
* Support for enhanced audio formats from Dolby(R) True HD and DTS-HD Master Audio | Essential(TM) Playback
* Bonus View
* SD Card Slot
* ENERGY STAR(R) Certified

"Toshiba is a technology leader in high definition products," says Jodi Sally, Vice President of Marketing, Digital A/V Group. "From listening to our consumers we know they demand access to full high definition content. With the introduction of our BDX2000 we are offering consumers what they want with a breath-taking HD viewing experience to meet the needs of today's home theater."

According to Samsung head of worldwide sales and marketing for PCs Kyu Uhm, OLED notebooks should be coming in 2010, as long as the industry continues to push for them.

Uhm, speaking at the ongoing IFA event in German, says: "Samsung is the largest OLED screen manufacturer. And as soon as it's available commercially for laptops we will adopt it. Probably sometime Q3 next year."

Samsung European product manager Patrick Povel, adds, via Electronista, that OLED-based notebooks will be the industry standard by 2014, citing numerous Gartner reports.

OLED is coming into favor because of how thin screens can be made with them, lower power consumption and much better color palettes as well as higher contrast ratios. OLED is currently used in MP3 players and other smaller devices, but has yet to hit mainstream in HDTVs due to high costs.

In late August, Microsoft officially cut the price of the 120GB Xbox 360 console to $299 USD, but according to Electronista, the large Canadian retailer Future Shop has begun selling the Elite Value Bundle for the same price (330 CAD=300 USD), marking an aggressive push on the unit.

The Value Bundle includes the console, a Wireless Network Adapter (to connect to Wi-Fi) and the game Halo 3. Online buyers also get the game Battlefield: Bad Company, for free. All together, purchasers will get the console and over $120 worth of extras ($70 for adapter, $50 for the games).

According to a press release by the German anti-piracy agency GVU, German police have raided the homes of six men accused of running a private torrent tracker.

Two of those arrested were alleged administrators, and the other four were uploaders accused of renting seedboxes to distribute the unauthorized movies, game, music and software.

The GVU release says the raids netted seven computers, eleven HDDs and over 870 CDs and DVDs. Overall however, the tracker seemed to be pretty small, and only had 2000 members while tracking just under 1000 torrents.

Members and other readers of the release have speculated that the site was targeted because they offered users 30GB free leech for 15 euro a month, thus making them somewhat of a "pay site."

DivX has announced the corporate acquisition of the Internet TV-streaming company AnySource Media, a move that should allow the digital company to bring movies and TV shows in DivX format to Internet-connected devices such as phones, TVs and Blu-ray players.

DivX CEO Kevin Hell says the move is a “key step of delivering on the vision of the Internet TV experience.”

The deal is for $7.5 million in cash upfront, with another $7.5 million in incentive based payments until 2012.

DivX is a company that distributes and licenses digital-video technologies. The company says there have been over over 100 million DivX Certified devices purchased, including the PS3 among many devices.

AnySource created the Internet Video Navigator software found in many HDTVs, software which allows users to navigate their TVs for music, photos, and videos from online sites such as CinemaNow, Amazon VOD and others. AnySource can handle up to 1080p.

Samsung president of Samsung's visual display Yoon Boo-keun has said today that he expects the company's LED TV sales to jump to 2 million by the end of 2009, as the popularity of the TVs grow.

Boo-keun says the company has sold over 1 million units as of the end of July, and with some believing the recession may be nearing an end, he sees strong expected growth.

"It's hard for a product to succeed, no matter what compelling new technology it contains, if consumers are not interested in it. We are doing a good job in evaluating what consumers value most, and integrating our technologies and marketing strategies accordingly," he added of the TVs, which include Samsung's own Wireless DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) technology.

LED technology has improved color performance over non-LED-backlit LCDs, as well as lower power consumption.

DisplaySearch has recently noted that they except LED-backlit TVs to take about 35 percent market share by 2012.

At the ongoing IFA 2009 event, the electronics giant Samsung has announced the latest editions of their S Series external HDD line, a 3.5-inch 2TB drive, and a 2.5-inch 640GB drive. The larger drive is dubbed the S3 and the smaller the S2.

“As consumer demands continue to escalate for storing personal data, music and video files, Samsung has expanded its extensive family of external hard drives to support the growing personal storage market,” noted Cheol-hee Lee, vice president of marketing, Storage Systems Division, Samsung Electronics. “The new drives provide users with a sleek design and high-density choices in both 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch form factors.”

The S2 is the largest Samsung has ever offered in the form factor, surpassing the 500GB drive they released earlier this year. The S3 is also the largest drive offered by the company for an external drive. IDC says that 1TB drives are so far the best selling in 2009, offering the best $/GB ratio.

Both drives will include Auto Backup, SecretZone, and SafetyKey encryption and security.

Sprint Nextel has announced it will become the second major carrier in the US to release an Android-based smartphone, with its release of the HTC Hero on October 11th.

The HTC Hero is a touchscreen phone with no QWERTY keypad, and will be very similar to the T-Mobile myTouch 3G which launched a few weeks ago.

The phone will retail for $180 USD after $100 mail-in-rebate and new or upgraded 2-year contract.

You can read the full spec sheet for the phone from its official page here: HTC Hero specs.

Rival Verizon has already noted it will begin selling a Motorola Android phone later this year, but it is still unclear which phone that will be.

Original HTC Hero:



Sprint version of HTC Hero:

Sony Ericsson has unveiled their latest and greatest mobile phone this week, the Xperia X2, in hopes of gaining more market share in the crowded market for smartphones.

The smartphone runs on the Windows Mobile 6.5 OS and includes a 3.2-inch touchscreen as well as a hidden slide-out QWERTY keypad. The interface features a "paneled" home screen which allows users to easily find and use 14 "panels" (apps). There are over 15 extra panels available for download, including Google search, Facebook, and even Skype.

The interface also includes a new feature dubbed Slideview, which allows users to check their most used applications in the quickest fashion, as well as receiving an "overview" of all missed emails, calls or texts. Of course the player has full music and video capabilities as do most smartphones. It will also include a document reader capable of reading Word .docs.

On the hardware side, the Xperia X2 has Wi-Fi, 3G, and 8.1 MP camera with 16x zoom that also includes strong features such as video recording, geo tagging, image stabilization and touch focus.

Creative has launched their first touchscreen media device today, with the Zen X-Fi2, a replacement to their excellent ZEN X-Fi.

The "X-Fi" stands for the audio engine used by Creative, which purportedly reduces noise and will restore details lost in the compression process of audio tracks and videos. It will also "simulate an audio experience from a pair of high-end stereo speakers."

The device has a 3-inch TFT LCD screen, and a microSD slot for memory expansion. The device will come bundled with EP-630 in-ear earphones.

Another notable feature is the player can read lossless audio formats such as FLAC as well as iTunes+ and more mainstream formats such as MP3 and WMA.

The player also includes FM radio, RSS feed support, and video out.

According to Paul Thurrott, owner of the Windows Super Site, all Microsoft Zune models are being discontinued as of this week, with the exception of the new Zune HD unit.

The Zune HD is set for launch on September 15th, with the 16GB model costing $219.99 USD and the 32GB model priced at $289.99 USD.

The classic Zune 8, 16, 80, and 120 models are all being discontinued, and are now while supplies last, adds Thurrott, who says he has talked to the Zune hardware team.

The upcoming Zune HD device features a 3.3-inch OLED touchscreen with 480 x 272 resolution and 16:9 display. It will also include HD radio, Wi-Fi, and 720p HD output via HDMI.

According to industry sources, the popular online video sharing site YouTube may begin offering movie rentals by the end of the year, as parent company Google is currently in talks with the major movie studios.

The negotiations have stalled on only two issues, say the sources, which are pricing and "agreed-upon release date."

The pricing will likely be in line with current rental models, such as those offered by iTunes, VUDU and CinemaNow which each offer the movies for between $1.99 and $3.99 USD, with 24-hour viewing periods once you have started watching the movie.

Studios very close to already signing deals are Lions Gate, Warner Bros., MGM and Sony, likely because they all currently have working revenue-sharing relationships with the streaming site.

Google declined comment on the speculation, as did the studios.

If the sources are accurate, YouTube could begin testing the rental service later this month, as a three-month "beta." Studios would receive about 60 percent of all revenue from the rentals, but that number could vary from studio to studio, adds the sources.

Microsoft has announced they will be slashing the price of the Xbox 360 Elite in Japan beginning tomorrow, dropping the price from JPY 39,800 to JPY 29,800. That drop is about the equivalent of $100 USD, the same drop North American customers received last week.

"With the price cut, we hope to boost demand for the Xbox game console. The Christmas and year-end shopping season is very important for us," added MS director of Xbox marketing in Japan Joji Sakaguchi, via the AP. "We are confident that we will do well during the upcoming holiday season. We cannot lose," he added.

Of note, the Elite bundle will no longer ship with an HDMI cable and the other models available, the HDD-less Arcade model and the 60GB Pro model will remain unchanged. The Pro's pricing however, is now at the discretion of the retailer, as the model is being phased out.

According to an independent report by the warranty company SquareTrade, the Nintendo Wii is the most reliable of the current generation consoles, while the Xbox 360 remains the console with the highest system failure rate.

After two years of ownership, Wii owners reported only a 2.7 percent failure rate, with the PS3 in the middle at 10 percent, and the 360 at 23.7 percent. Excluding RROD errors, which are covered by a Microsoft warranty for 3 years, the Xbox 360 still had an 11.7 percent failure rate.

The sample size for the study was 16,000 units, but there are some notable facts to note. Most of the Wii failures were due to power issues and most of the non-RROD errors for the Xbox 360 was "Disc Read errors," the same as the PS3. Usage was also a factor, because the Wii, according to Nielsen numbers, is just about half of that of the Xbox 360. The report says the average 360 console is played or used for 1191 minutes per month, followed by the PS3 at 1053 and the Wii lagging way behind at 516.

According to GamesIndustry.biz, sales of the Xbox 360 Elite unit had surged 43 percent during the "bank holiday weekend in the UK," following the recent price cut of the system to GBP 199.

"Sales of Xbox 360 are up 43 percent," says the report. "Essentially, looking at the price, obviously it's the Elite that's done the business with those sales."

The report does say that Sony will most likely put up similar or stronger numbers this week, following the release of the Slim PS3 and the $100 USD price cut on all other models.

In the UK, Microsoft has raised the price of the Arcade model from GBP 129 to 159, and has begun phasing out the Premium model, leaving just the Elite and Arcade.

According to a report from Network World, the Xbox 360 Elite price cut that has hit the US and Europe could be hitting Asian nations tomorrow, as Microsoft has announced a press conference in Japan.

The conference was confirmed by Microsoft Hong Kong spokesperson Julie Leong. The price cut will slash the price of the 120 GB Elite model to about $305 USD in Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan.

Although hardly an issue, Microsoft says they will remove the HDMI cable from the bundle, just like they did for the European version.

There was no word on Japan as of yet.

The NFL (National Football League) has started a new Twitter policy this week, prohibiting players, coaches and team personnel from Tweeting for the entire duration of a game, including the 90 minutes before and 30 minutes after.

There were no other restrictions.

Says the official announcement: "The growth of social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook has created important new ways for the NFL and clubs to communicate and connect with fans. The NFL has been at the forefront of the use of new media and will continue to emphasize innovative and appropriate use of these new forms of communication."

Players and other personnel were already barred from using cell phones, computers and other electronic devices during the game, but the amended rules specifically name Twitter now, given its strong growth in such a relatively small period.

The policy now reads: "Coaches, players and football operations personnel are permitted under league policy and with club permission to use social media on game day during specific time periods before and after games... up to 90 minutes before kickoff and after the game following media interviews."