Latest news

According to a new consumer study by Nielsen, users who have experienced 3D HDTVs, ones that require special glasses, are less interested in buying a 3D set than those that have not.

"It's a marketing challenge," adds Frank Stagliano, Nielsen's general manager of TV Primary Research.

The report, titled "Focusing on the 3DTV Experience," is the "first professional study of a group that represents the whole country and has experienced 3D TV firsthand," says Stagliano.

Stereoscopic glasses were the biggest deal breaker in regards to purchasing a set, with almost 50 percent of the 425 people surveyed complaining that they are uncomfortable or a "hassle."

89 percent of those surveyed complained that wearing the glasses made it almost impossible to do anything else.

Says the study: "A lot of consumers, especially younger ones, like to multitask and were irritated that they can't."

Additionally, rival technologies and the expensive price of the glasses are additional "turn-offs" for 3D TVs.

Says Stagliano (via USA Today): "If I bring my Sony glasses over to a friend's house with a Samsung (3D TV set), they won't work. Viewers really get upset at that stuff."

According to sources cited by AppleInsider, an iPad with a front-facing camera and FaceTime will likely be released soon, breaking Apple's traditional 12-month product cycle for "i" devices.

The sources claim that the refreshed iPad is already in advanced testing stages, just five months after the launch of the first-generation tablet.

Expected launch date for the second-generation iPad? The Q1 2011.

The site also speculated that Apple is hoping to embed FaceTime into all its iOS devices before opening up the standard to the community.

FaceTime has become the main selling point for all new iOS device, with new TV ads boasting about the software rather than new hardware enhancements to the devices.

In late July, following the PR disaster that was "antennagate," Apple announced it would be providing free cases to iPhone 4 buyers that were experiencing trouble with dropped calls when the phone was held in their left hand.

Apple set aside $175 million for the program, sending all owners a free "bumper" case, and giving refunds to anyone who purchased a bumper since the phone's launch.

Today, Apple says they will be ending the program at the end of the month, because the antenna problem was actually "smaller" than original projections.

Despite the program ending, Apple did say it will continue to provide cases to the "small percentage of iPhone 4 users" that may still need one.

Says Apple's announcement: "We now know that the iPhone 4 antenna attenuation issue is even smaller than we originally thought. A small percentage of iPhone 4 users need a case and we want to continue providing them a Bumper case for free."

Nokia's Board of Directors has appointed Stephen Elop President and Chief Executive Officer of Nokia as of September 21. Elop currently heads Microsoft's Business Division. Before joining Microsoft, Elop held senior executive positions in a number of US-based public companies, including Juniper Networks, Adobe Systems Inc. and Macromedia Inc. He holds a degree in computer engineering and management from McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, which is his home country.

Elop commented on his new Nokia position:

I am extremely excited to become part of a team dedicated to strengthening Nokia's position as the undisputed leader of the mobile communications industry, with a relentless focus on meeting the needs and expectations of customers. Nokia has a unique global position as well as a great brand upon which we can build. The company has deeply talented and dedicated people, and I am confident that together we can continue to deliver innovative products that meet the needs of consumers. The Nokia slogan clearly states our key mission: Connecting People, which will acquire new dimensions as we build our portfolio of products, solutions and services.

Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo will leave his current position as President and CEO of Nokia on September 20, 2010 and his position on the Nokia Board of Directors with immediate effect. He will continue to chair the Board of Nokia Siemens Networks in a non-executive capacity.

Panasonic has said today that they will be adding Netflix streaming to their 2010 Viera HDTVs and Blu-ray players.

Owners of said devices will have access to Netflix's "Watch Instantly" catalog, which includes over 15,000 movies and TV episodes.

To use Watch Instantly, you will need a Netflix subscription of at least $8.99 per month.

Panasonic says owners can use the USB connections on their TVs to add wireless keyboards, making the service more accessible.

The company currently offers Skype, Twitter, Pandora, Amazon VOD, YouTube, Picasa, Bloomberg News and weather on their Viera Internet-enabled devices.

According to a new report from asymco, Apple is now paying over $900 million per year to run the iTunes Store.

Apple now has to budget $75 million per month towards operational expenses, and the site says that number may actually be higher if book transactions are taken into account.

Asymco says the expenses are much higher than in 2009, where monthly expenses barely exceeded $30 million per month.

Apple currently has 160 million users on iTunes, along with 12 million songs and 250,000 apps.

The company has long said, however, that the iTunes store is break-even in regards to profit and that its main purpose is to drive Apple hardware, such as the iPhone and iPods.

Best Buy has announced today that it will begin selling the popular Amazon Kindle in the coming months, bringing the e-reader to thousands of brick-and-mortar shops.

The company said all the e-readers it carries will be placed together so consumers can compare. Best Buy carries the B&N Nook and all three variations of Sony's Reader line.

Best Buy will carry the $140 Kindle Wi-Fi and the latest generation 3G/Wi-Fi model, which sells for $190. The Nook's rival players cost $150 and $200. Sony's players, on the other hand, range from $180 to $250.

Says the retailer (via IW): "Our goal is to help people choose the device that's right for them by providing the broadest selection of popular e-readers of any retailer, in one convenient place that enables people to easily see, touch, try and buy."

Additionally, Best Buy has said that later in the year they will begin selling the Amazon Kindle DX, with its large 9.7-inch display, for $290.

According to the latest figures from market research firm NPD Group, U.S. videogame industry sales took a dive in August, falling 10 percent year-on-year (YoY).

Overall sales fell to $819 million USD, with software revenue collapsing 14 percent and hardware falling 5 percent.

Almost reaching the point of saturation, the Nintendo Wii saw its lowest sales since November 2006, falling 12 percent to just 244,300 units sold for the month.

The perennial hardware leader, the Nintendo DS line, fell 38 percent to 342,700 units sold. DS sales have now fallen in each month since April.

Dead-in-the-water handheld PSP sales dove 43 percent, with Sony selling just 79,400 units for the month.

In a surprise about-face, Apple has loosened up on the restrictions in their App Store Review Guidelines, allowing for games and apps based on Adobe Flash technology to be submitted to the iPhone/iTouch/iPad App Store.

While the decision is certainly a move in the right direction, users of "i" devices will still not be able to view Flash videos while browsing the Web, however.

Reads the statement from Apple: "We are continually trying to make the App Store even better. We have listened to our developers and taken much of their feedback to heart. Based on their input, today we are making some important changes to our iOS Developer Program license in sections 3.3.1, 3.3.2 and 3.3.9 to relax some restrictions we put in place earlier this year."

"In particular, we are relaxing all restrictions on the development tools used to create iOS apps, as long as the resulting apps do not download any code. This should give developers the flexibility they want, while preserving the security we need."

Apple's newly launched "GameCenter" will likely now be flooded with Flash-based games, and Apple's mobile advertisers are likely very excited at the prospect of being able to use Flash, as well.

Nintendo has updated the system firmware for the DSi handheld this week, blocking a number of flashcarts regularly used by gamers to run homebrew and pirated games.

The previous DSi firmware update, released a year ago, enhanced the built-in browser, added the ability to upload photos to Facebook and some subtle anti-piracy measures.

This week's update does not improve anything, as Nintendo says "This update provides behind-the-scenes improvements to system performance."

TinyCartridge says the firmware, version 1.4.1U blocks the following carts: Acekard 2i, DSTTi, iPlayer, M3i Zero and the Supercard DSTwo.

Additionally, GBAtemp is reporting that Nintendo is prepping firmware 1.4.2C, which will block any remaining carts, such as the EZ-Flash Vi, iSmart DS and Hyper R4i.

LG has confirmed today that it will be introducing new smartphones during the Q4 this year that will run on Nvidia Tegra 2 mobile processors.

The Tegra 2 is the world's first dual-core CPU mobile processor.

LG will introduce the phones as part of their Optimus series.

"LG is committed to making its Optimus Series smart devices the de facto standard in speed and graphics performance," says Chang Ma, Vice President of Marketing Strategy Team, LG Mobile Communications Company. "We selected NVIDIA because it is the visual computing leader and has a long history of creating amazing consumer experiences."

The CPU uses dual-1GHz chips and is the first processor to enable 1080p video recording.

Nvidia promises that the Tegra 2 will offer up to 500 percent better gaming performance and 200 percent faster Web browsing.

"The ultimate smartphones will be powered by Tegra, the world’s most advanced mobile processor," added Phil Carmack, senior vice president of NVIDIA’s mobile business. "LG is one of the most popular consumer brands, and their Optimus Series of devices with Tegra is further validation of the processor’s ability to deliver an unrivaled, turbocharged media experience."

Apple has released the updated iOS 4.1 software today for iPhone and iPod touch owners.

The company unveiled the update, along with a new Apple TV, revamped iPods and iTunes 10 last week at their September media event.

With 4.1 comes HDR photography support, 'Game Center,' HD video uploads and TV show rentals.

Furthermore, the update will fix bugs and other issues from the original 4.1 release. iPhone 3G owners should be ecstatic as 4.1 should eliminate the excessive slowdown caused by the OS.

The update will work on the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 and all iPod touch models after the first generation. All 4.1 features will be compatible with the latest iPhones and iTouches, but older models will not get all the new features.

iOS 4.1 is about 590 MB for those who may have slower Internet connections.

Qualcomm has confirmed that two dual-core Snapdragon CPUs will be hitting devices next year, boasting clock speeds as high as 1.5GHz.

The 1.2GHz dual-core 8260 will go into volume production during the first half of next year, and the more powerful 1.5GHz dual core 8672 processor will being hitting devices in the Q3.

Initially, CEO Paul Jacobs had said that the 8672 would ship during the first six months of the year, also, but the company later delayed the chip.

Additionally, Qualcomm will begin to ship its 800MHz 7X30 and 1GHz 8X65 chips, which boost performance from previous chips at the same clock speeds.

The current 1GHz chips have become standard in recent Android devices, and likely for upcoming Windows 7 devices, as well.

Microsoft has announced their first Kinect bundle today, setting a November 4th release date for the U.S.

The bundle will come with a 250GB slim Xbox 360 console, the Kinect motion control system and Kinect Adventures game for $399.99.

If purchased separately, the console would cost $300, the motion system would cost $150 and the game would cost $40, so the bundle does in fact offer a decent savings.

The bundle will be released in Europe on November 10th, and later in Japan on November 22nd.

You can pre-order the bundle now from Target, Amazon, GameStop and Best Buy.

"All you have to do is play [Kinect], or watch people play it," says Takashi Sensui, head of Microsoft's home and entertainment division in Japan. "It's nothing you've seen, and it's a brand new experience that I think a lot of people will be attracted to."

Thanks to the editor-in-chief of Wired, Chris Anderson, T-Mobile USA may be getting the iPhone 3GS later this year, breaking AT&T's multiple-year exclusivity on the popular smartphone.

Reads the tweet: "A T-Mobile manager casually mentioned to me that they're going to get the iPhone 3GS (but not 4, oddly) later this year. Common knowledge?"

While this is not the first rumor placing T-Mobile with iPhones, it is the first to suggest that the carrier will only get the older 3GS model.

AT&T still sells the 8GB iPhone 3GS for $99 with contract so it would be logical to assume that T-Mobile will offer the device at near the same price.

To offer an iPhone for T-Mobile, Apple would have to modify the device, as it currently does not support T-Mobile's 3G frequencies at 1700MHz and 2100MHz.