Latest news

BBC has expanded its iPlayer app to work on iPhones, and over 3G.

The company says the app will work with all of the UK's 3G mobile networks.

For the time being, the Android version of the app only works over Wi-Fi but the Beeb says it is working on updating the software for 3G.

Some analysts are worried the move will put strain on the carriers, which may lead to reduced service for users that aren't even using the streaming service:

One potential danger is that people are going to run up unexpectedly high data bills, and the other is the strain that this is going to put on the system if a lot of people start streaming in this way.

The system would default to prioritise voice calls, so it wouldn't affect voice calls, but it would mean that people would be unable to use their data services.

BBC for its part says "we have included a cost warning message in the BBC iPlayer app to ensure people are aware of their tariffs."

From the time Amazon started taking orders for their Kindle Fire tablet earlier this year, it has looked like a runaway hit with consumers. Before the first customer got a single tablet in his hands, sales were estimated at over a million units.

While Amazon may not have the brand name appeal of Apple or the screen size of the iPad, the $199 pricetag and generally impressive technical specs have proven to be major motivators for consumers.

As people have started using the new device, some of the luster seems to be wearing off a little. While it has received a lot of four and five star reviews on the Amazon website (more than 3,000 in all), the number of one and two star reviews (more than 1,000) is also notable.

An Amazon spokesman recently told the New York Times the company has an update in the works which should address many of the problems, including performance, multitouch functionality, and an inability to lock the screen.

Despite assurances to the contrary from LightSquared, it looks like the latest government testing of their proposed LTE data network aren't convincing government regulators to let them start operating any time soon.

LightSquared's plan to offer wholesale mobile data service has been in limbo ever since receiving conditional approval from the FCC. Their problems stem from the use of frequencies in a range normally limited to satellite communication.

Until the NTIA (National Telecommunications and Information Administration) is satisfied their signal won't interfere with the operation of high precision GPS equipment, which use an adjacent frequency band, they won't be allowed to turn on their service.

A previous round of testing performed by the NTIA and Department Of Defense, who uses some of the problematic GPS equipment, was an overwhelming failure. The resulting hearings led to charges of political cronyism as it appeared President Obama tried to push through FCC approval without the necessary testing.

According to a new report from Businessweek, who claims to have a leaked copy of the results from the latest round of testing, LightSquared hasn't managed to fix their problems yet. They say a report on the tests, set to be presented to various government officials this week, says the service will still interfere with the vast majority of GPS systems.

Spotify has introduced their take on Internet radio for users of their new app enabled client.

To use the new feature you will need to be running the preview version of their software which adds support for Spotify Apps. When you look at an artist page in Spotify, you will be presented with an option to 'Start Artist Radio.'

Alternatively, you can use the Radio link on the left side to access an Internet radio station you've already created or stations created by others. There are also pre-configured stations available for various genres.

In some ways this may be the most interesting part of Spotify's service, simply because their license agreements with labels give them much broader streaming rights than other Internet radio providers.

Activision has announced today that its blockbuster smash hit Modern Warfare 3 has surpassed $1 billion in revenue, and it only took the game 16 days to do so.

The milestone was hit one day quicker than it took "Avatar," the most profitable movie of all time, to reach $1 billion in sales.

CEO Bobby Kotick notes:

Engagement of our Call of Duty audience continues to rise around the world. Call of Duty as an entertainment franchise has made an indelible mark on popular culture and its broad and continued success is further validation that audiences increasingly value interactive experiences over passive experiences.

Call of Duty is now amongst that rarified group of sustained franchises like "Star Wars", "Harry Potter", "Lord of the Rings" and the National Football League (NFL) that attract or engage tens of millions of people every year or every new release.

Concludes Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing:

Call of Duty has become that rare entertainment franchise that transcends its own genre. Core gamers love it, as our stellar reviews show. But every year, new people are drawn into Call of Duty. And while the franchise continues to set records, our fans still seem to want more, demonstrated by our record setting start on Call of Duty Elite. We are committed to helping everyone connect, compete and improve their game, Call of Duty style.

Microsoft has released Silverlight 5 today, the latest version of the plug-in/

The software giant explains the new features:

New features in Silverlight 5 include Hardware Decode of H.264 media, which provides a significant performance improvement with decoding of unprotected content using the GPU; Postscript Vector Printing to improve output quality and file size; and an improved graphics stack with 3D support that uses the XNA API on the Windows platform to gain low-level access to the GPU for drawing vertex shaders and low-level 3D primitives.

In addition, Silverlight 5 extends the ?Trusted Application? model to the browser for the first time. These features, when enabled via a group policy registry key and an application certificate, mean users won?t need to leave the browser to perform complex tasks such as multiple window support, full trust support in browser including COM and file system access, in browser HTML hosting within Silverlight, and P/Invoke support for existing native code to be run directly from Silverlight.

At least two US legislators are taking the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to task for the events surrounding the seizure and eventual return of a hip hop blog as part of Operation In Our Sites.

While US Attorney General Eric Holder was testifying before the House Of Representatives' Judiciary Committee regarding a sting operation to catch gun smugglers, Representative Zoe Lofgren took the opportunity to ask for details about the seizure of the Dajaz1.com domain name by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The domain name was seized a year ago by ICE (read the order below), who claimed operators of the popular blog were guilty of criminal copyright infringement. Despite the fact federal seizure laws require the government to either return property after 90 days or take forfeiture action, the domain name was returned a full year later with the agency admitting there was no justification for a criminal complaint.

According to a report from Techdirt, during that time the government repeatedly told lawyers representing the blog's administrator they had filed for extensions to the initial 90 day seizure period, but at no time was the accused given notice of the hearings, and in fact his lawyers weren't even allowed to see the extension orders the government claimed were issued.

Here is today's list of 10 cent apps from the Android Market.

On Tuesday, the Android Market started an excellent promotion, offering 10 days of 10 popular apps for 10 cents.

Android's promotion is in celebration of 10 billion apps being downloaded from the market.

Kind of a weak list today, in my opinion (but please don't let that discourage you).

List, available now from here or via your Android phone/tablet:

Doodle Jump
SoundHound ∞
Roll in the Hole Other Locale: Roll in the Hole
Flick Soccer
Flight Control
Beautiful Widgets
Blow Up
Block Breaker 3 Unlimited HD
When I Get Bigger
SUPER KO BOXING! 2

Apple has just announced that the 100 millionth app has been downloaded from their Mac App Store, 11 months after launch.

The store, which launched on January 6th, sold 1 million apps in its first day of availability and has seen a fast pace since.

While the number is large, by comparison the iOS App Store hit 100 million downloads in 54 days and is now above 15 billion downloaded.

Says Apple:

In just three years the App Store changed how people get mobile apps, and now the Mac App Store is changing the traditional PC software industry. With more than 100 million downloads in less than a year, the Mac App Store is the largest and fastest growing PC software store in the world.

The Galaxy Nexus is now available in Canada, making it available (or planned) pretty much everywhere but the U.S.

Bell and Virgin Mobile have the device available for $160 with contract.

Verizon has not yet set a release date or price for the Android 4.0-packing smartphone, which was expected to launch in mid-November but has been delayed.

The Android 4.0 ICS device will have a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, a 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED screen with 1280x768 resolution and dual cameras 1.3/5 MP. The phone has a curved design, is thin and has an impressive no-shutter lag camera.

Additionally, the phone has LTE/HSPA+ support and NFC for Verizon's ISIS payment system.

Developer Yifan Lu has jailbroken the new Amazon Kindle Touch.

The jailbreak tool will not require you to use advanced techniques as it is just an MP3 file.

Because the Touch operating systems uses more HTML than Java, devs/hackers say it is easier to exploit, at least for now.

While there are no uses, yet, for jailbreaking the device, it will likely not take long before homebrew apps are available that allow for the playback of non-Amazon files, and more, like custom ROMS (potentially).

Beijing has finally approved the Apple smartphone.

In China, before a device can be allowed onto Chinese networks, it must first be approved by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

With the new approval, China Unicom should begin selling the device soon, although the carrier has not provided a timeline except to say "this month."

The approved model is compatible with GSM, WCDMA, HSDPA / HSUPA, Bluetooth, and WAPI (WLAN Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure), says MIC.

China Unicom will sell the smartphone for 4999 yuan ($790 USD) without contract.

Here is today's list of 10 cent apps from the Android Market.

On Tuesday, the Android Market started an excellent promotion, offering 10 days of 10 popular apps for 10 cents.

Android's promotion is in celebration of 10 billion apps being downloaded from the market.

List, available now from here or via your Android phone/tablet:

Captain America - Sentinel of Liberty
Raging Thunder
NFL 3D Live Wallpaper
Backbreaker Football
Jenga
Just Me and My Mom
BackStab HD
Sim City Deluxe
Edmondo Sports Tracker
GLWG

HP has put their refurb TouchPads on sale on eBay for $99 + $19 shipping.

Over 2000 have already been sold.

Go now: HP TouchPad Wi-Fi 16GB Refurbished | FB355UAR#ABA

Original Article:

On Sunday, starting at 6 PM Central Time, HP will be selling refurbished 16GB and 32GB TouchPads on their eBay store.
The devices will sell for $99 and $149 just like they did on the firesale days of a few months ago.

Additionally, the company will be selling a $79 accessory bundle which has the wireless keyboard, charging dock and a case.

There is only a 90-day warranty on the devices and sales are final, no returns. Users can only buy 2 per eBay account.

The tablets will be available at http://stores.ebay.com/hewlettpackard.

Popular comedian Louis CK has decided to release his latest film, DRM-free, and for just $5.

When you pay, you can stream the movie twice or download it and own it forever, with no DRM.

The comedian does ask that people not steal his film, "Live at the Beacon Theater," and hopefully fans do not.

Says CK (via Crunch):

To those who might wish to 'torrent' this video: look, I don't really get the whole 'torrent' thing. I don't know enough about it to judge either way. But I'd just like you to consider this: I made this video extremely easy to use against well-informed advice. I was told that it would be easier to torrent the way I made it, but I chose to do it this way anyway, because I want it to be easy for people to watch and enjoy this video in any way they want without 'corporate' restrictions.

Please bear in mind that I am not a company or a corporation. I'm just some guy. I paid for the production and posting of this video with my own money. I would like to be able to post more material to the fans in this way, which makes it cheaper for the buyer and more pleasant for me. So, please help me keep this being a good idea. I can't stop you from torrenting; all I can do is politely ask you to pay your five little dollars, enjoy the video, and let other people find it in the same way.