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New product lets users effortlessly play, share and wirelessly stream their local videos, music and photos between their PCs and Android-powered tablets.

PowerDVD Mobile for Android devices can wirelessly download and share media from PowerDVD on the PC to Android tablets, utilizing "Save To" and "Share On" features. If you have a DNLA TV, you can use it to stream media from your Android device to enjoy it on the bigger screen.

It also acts as an all-in-one media player, supporting photos (including the ability to touch up photos and create/view slideshows easily), videos and music on Android tablets, though the format/codec support is dependant on the capabilities of the Android device itself.

“CyberLink has always been synonymous with creating innovative digital media solutions,” said Alice H. Chang, CEO of CyberLink Corp.

“With the release of PowerDVD Mobile, we are proud to add a new solution that takes advantage of the momentum from Android device adoption and brings the premium entertainment experience of PowerDVD beyond the PC. Users can now conveniently enjoy their movies, videos and photos on the PC, in the living room or on the go.”

System Requirements

• Operating System: Android 3.0 and above
• Processor: Minimum 1GHz
• RAM: Minimum 512MB
• Supported Screen Resolutions: 1280x800, 1280x768, 1024x600

Product Availability
PowerDVD Mobile is available on the Android Market in the following languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese, Korean, Russian and Portuguese. CyberLink also offers PowerDVD Mobile to OEM partners.

Two phones running Windows Phone 7.5, previously codenamed Mango, have officially been introduced to consumers at HTC events in London, Paris, Madrid & Berlin.

The HTC Titan and HTC Radar both feature dedicated camera buttons, allowing you to use the camera without unlocking the phone first. The also offer 720p video recording.

Microsoft's Achim Berg, head of Windows Phone marketing, responded to recent analyst predictions that the platform would capture 20% of the smartphone market by 2015. Berg optimistically suggested to Bloomberg that Windows Phone could achieve that as soon as next year.

He also downplayed Windows Phone's poor performance to date:

This is a completely new platform, it takes time. It took time with Android, it took time with Apple. We have to show that we’re very capable and that we have the fastest and easiest phone.

Lenovo has launched their IdeaPad A1 at $199.

The tablet is 7-inches, runs on Android 2.3, has a single core 1GHz processor, 8GB storage and dual cameras.

At a resolution of 1024x600, the tablet has first generation tablet specs, but the price may persuade some users who could not get in on the HP TouchPad's firesale price.

Even the Samsung Galaxy Tab, originally launched at $500, has similar specs and sells for $250 or more from retailers, a year later.

The IdeaPad A1 goes on sale in two weeks.

Could this be the new 3DS with revised hardware?

Nintendo has sent press invites for an event on September 13th, expected to be a "major announcement" for the 3DS.

Rumor has it that the company is already developing a revised 3DS hardware, one that will launch next year or later this year.

Featuring a second analog stick, the console will also tone down the 3D capabilities of the system, which has proven to be a bust.

After just 5 months on the market, Nintendo acknowledged that the 3DS was overpriced and slashed the price from $250 to $170 giving early adopters very little to celebrate except for free games.

British authorities have arrested two men in connection with Anonymous and LulzSec, including the allegedly important member 'Kayla.'

Kayla is said to be one of the members behind the attack on Internet security firm HB Gary Federal, which involved breaking into the company's computers and servers and stealing tens of thousands of internal emails.

The Metro Police say they arrested two men yesterday in Yorkshire, a 24-year old and a 20-year-old.

In conjunction with the FBI, the Metro Police say the arrests were due to an investigation "into a series of serious computer intrusions and online denial-of-service attacks recently suffered by a number of multinational companies, public institutions and government and law enforcement agencies in Great Britain and the United States."

Kayla, according to lulzsecexposed, pretended to be a 16-year-old girl in interviews and online.

As we have reported multiple times, Starz and Netflix have broken up, with the relationship ending in February after 4 years.

Netflix paid just $28 million per year for their current contract and according to LAT, was willing to pay $300 million per year to renew.

Starz, on the other hand, didn't care about the money but instead wanted to add tiered pricing to Netflix, meaning users who wanted Starz would have had to pay more per month for a subscription, perhaps in line with what consumers of companies like Dish Network pay.

That appears to be the only sticking point that failed in the negotiations, as Netflix refused to pay for the content and pass on the extra costs to the consumers.

Surprisingly, the article also says that perhaps Amazon would be willing to negotiate with Starz over the content.

Earlier today we reported that Starz had called off all talks to renew their content licensing agreement with Netflix.

Following the move, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings had this to say of the break (via BI):

Starz has been a great content partner for many years and we are thankful for their support. While we regret their decision to let our agreement lapse next February, we are grateful to Chris and his team for the early notice of their decision, which will give us time to license other content before Starz expires.

While Starz was a huge part of viewing on Netflix several years ago because it was some of the only mainstream content we offered, over the years we spent more and more licensing great TV shows from all four broadcast networks and many cable networks, and we have licensed 1st run movies from Relativity, MGM, Paramount, Lionsgate and others.

Because we’ve licensed so much other great content, Starz content is now down to about 8% of domestic Netflix subscribers’ viewing. As we add a huge more content in Q4, we expect Starz content to naturally drift down to 5-6% of domestic viewing in Q1. We are confident we can take the money we had earmarked for Starz renewal next year, and spend it with other content providers to maintain or even improve the Netflix experience.

In this week's guide spotlight, we will look at the process for converting subtitles ripped from a DVD in SUB/IDX format to the BDN XML format used for Blu-ray authoring.

Both DVD and Blu-ray use bitmap based subpictures for subtitles. In fact the two formats are extremely simmilar, so once you've extracted your DVD subtitles (see our guide for Extracting Content From DVD), the process for converting them is quite simple.

For converting you can use a program called BDSup2Sub, and our DVD to Blu-ray subtitle conversion guide.

You can watch the videos below for a better idea of what the guide covers. All three videos are also included with the guide.

The basic process is simple. First load the extracted subtitles, then check for any errors, and finally save to BDN XML format:

With Windows 8, Microsoft is attempting to walk a fine line between making the OS more tablet friendly and retaining all the standard functionality Windows users expect.

In the latest installment of the Building Windows 8 blog, Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky tackles the question of how the new tile based Metro interface will co-exist with the traditional Windows desktop.

Metro borrows heavily from Windows Media Center and Windows Phone 7. Rather than replacing the standard Windows desktop, the two will co-exist side by side, allowing the user to use both.

This fits with Microsoft's goal of making Windows 8 a viable competitor in the tablet market. The bigger question is whether that objective is realistic and what, if any, Windows 8's UI changes make.

If you want to use Windows on a tablet, Metro is certainly an improvement over the traditional Windows desktop. A focus on simple apps with simple interfaces fits what mobile users have become accustomed to from the iPhone, Android, and even Windows Phone 7.

Starz has ended all conversations with Netflix over renewing their popular movie licensing agreement.

The move comes the same day Netflix has begun charging more for streaming, if you want to keep your physical DVD rentals, as well.

Says the company:

Starz Entertainment has ended contract renewal negotiations with Netflix. When the agreement expires on February 28, 2012, Starz will cease to distribute its content on the Netflix streaming platform. This decision is a result of our strategy to protect the premium nature of our brand by preserving the appropriate pricing and packaging of our exclusive and highly valuable content. With our current studio rights and growing original programming presence, the network is in an excellent position to evaluate new opportunities and expand its overall business.

The four-year "sweetheart" deal signed by Netflix 42 months ago had the company paying just $165 million total for 1000 movies. The new deal would have cost over $200 million per year.

Samsung has unveiled its latest tablet today at the IFA event, the Galaxy Tab 7.7.

As with other devices, the 7.7 is in reference to the device's screen size, at 7.7-inches.

Making the tablet impressive is its Super AMOLED Plus display and 1280x800 resolution that is normally seen on bigger devices. Additionally, it is ultrathin at 0.31 inches thick, weighing in at 12 ounces. The Super AMOLED screen should offer superior colors and viewing angles to any tablet on the market.

The 7.7 has a fast dual core processor at 1.4GHz, runs on Android 3.2 (with TouchWiz UI), has 64GB internal storage, 3MP camera and a large 5100mAh battery.

Samsung says the device will be launched "in the coming months" with pricing unknown at time being.

(Pics via ThisIsMyNext)

According to a new Nielsen survey, just 10 apps account for a full 43 percent of all Android app usage.

On average, a typical user will spend 56 minutes per day on the mobile web or using apps.

The top 10 apps in the market account for 43 percent of that usage, while the top 50 apps account for 61 percent.

Although Nielsen did not publish the names of the apps, we can assume popular apps like Angry Birds, Pandora, Skype and Twitter are near the top.

Says Don Kellogg, director of telecom research and insights for Nielsen (via Rock):

With 250,000+ Android apps available at the time of this writing, that means the remaining 249,950+ apps have to compete for the remaining 39 percent of the pie.

According to researchers at Parks Associates, consumers are not only showing a preference for on demand streaming video over other alternatives, but also paying close to $50 per subscriber to access premium services.

That trend isn't likely to reverse itself any time soon, considering the growing tablet market and demand for increased access to content across platforms and at any location.

Estimates from the NPD Group's Connected Intelligence division suggest demand for access via Wi-Fi hotspot or even across mobile data networks, could equal demand for access in the home.

The broad appeal of subscription services is coming, in part, at the expense of a la carte rental and purchase services. Apple recently got rid of their $0.99 TV show rentals.

DVD and Blu-ray sales and rentals have been stagnant for some time, with Blu-ray adopters generally failing to make up for lower DVD revenue. At the same time, consumer willingness to drop pay TV subscriptions in favor of internet options is on the increase.

The logical move at this point would be to concentrate on helping online services profit in the new marketplace to make the transition profitable for everyone.

In July, Netflix announced that it had separated its DVD and streaming services, which meant if you want both, the price increased substantially.

Today, the price hike goes into effect.

1-DVD-at-time unlimited plans will cost $7.99 per month, the cheapest it has ever been, but if you want unlimited streaming you will need to pay an additional $7.99. That is a $6 price hike if you subscribe to the current $9.99 mixed plan for 1-DVD and streaming.

At the time, Netflix said:

Last November when we launched our $7.99 unlimited streaming plan, DVDs by mail was treated as a $2 add on to our unlimited streaming plan. At the time, we didn’t anticipate offering DVD only plans. Since then we have realized that there is still a very large continuing demand for DVDs both from our existing members as well as non-members. Given the long life we think DVDs by mail will have, treating DVDs as a $2 add on to our unlimited streaming plan neither makes great financial sense nor satisfies people who just want DVDs. Creating an unlimited DVDs by mail plan (no streaming) at our lowest price ever, $7.99, does make sense and will ensure a long life for our DVDs by mail offering.

AOL is in talks with banks in an effort to take the struggling company private.

For now, the discussion are revolving around a per share price in which AOL's management would consider being taken private.

The company, and its shares have struggled massively as the management tries to complete a restructuring into a digital content company.

Since IPOing in 2009, stock in the company has fallen from as high as $30 to $15 as of today, and as low as $10, last week.

AOL has tried to become a web content company, with its biggest purchase being The Huffington Post for $300 million last year.