Nintendo dropping price of DSi and DSi XL
Nintendo has announced that they are dropping the price of the DSi and DSi XL handhelds in September, likely as a way to slowly clear our inventory before the eventual launch of the 3DS.
Starting on September 12th, the DSi will drop to $149.99 and the large XL will drop to $169.99.
The 3DS will give gamers a chance to watch 3D movies and play 3D games without the need for any special glasses.
Nintendo released the DSi XL last year, introducing the handheld with 93 percent larger screens than the DSi allowing for easier playback of movies and easier Internet surfing.
XperiaX10 to finally get Android 2.1
Sony Ericsson launched the high end smartphone Xperia X10 earlier this year which disappointed would-be buyers when it came with the outdated Android firmware version 1.6.
In May, the company noted that it would possibly update the smartphone to Android 2.1 in the Q4, and today they have confirmed the update.
Posting via Twitter, SE UK has said it will begin rolling out the 2.1 update in September, earlier than expected.
Coming with 2.1 for the X10 are HD video recording, Wireless home connectivity via DLNA and improvements to signature applications Timescape and Mediascape to make them even smarter and richer.
The X10 has a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, and a 4-inch 854×480 touchscreen which until now, did not have official multi-touch support.
LG shows off 3D OLED TV and 180-inch Plasma HDTV
LG has announced that it will showoff a 2.9mm 3D OLED TV at the IFA 2010 event starting on September 3rd, claiming it is the world’s thinnest OLED to date.
There were little other details available about the TV.
The TV will indeed be the thinnest in the world, unless Samsung unveils a thinner one during the event.
In addition, LG will unveil an 180-inch plasma 3D TV prototype, on the of the largest commercial 3D displays ever created.
The IFA 2010 Consumer Electronics Show will run from September 3rd until the 8th in Berlin.
Intel buys iPhone processor maker
Intel has purchased part of the large wireless chip maker Infineon Technologies AG, buying the company behind the chips used in the Apple iPhone.
The company has fallen far behind in the growing smartphone processor market since their technology uses too much power, draining the phone battery too quickly.
With the acquisition today, for $1.4 billion in cash, Intel now has the wireless-chip division of the company, and an instant “in” to the market.
Intel purchased the mobile software company Wind River Systems last year for $885 million, and they have since been creating the mobile OS dubbed “Moblin,” which will run on smartphones using Intel chips.
Additionally, the company recently paid $7.68 billion for the large security software firm McAfee, and the company plans to integrate security into its mobile chips.
New 3D Android tablet will not require glasses
Rockchip has introduced their new 3D Android tablet this week, one that will be glasses-free while still giving owners full 3D support.
The tablet will use autostereoscopic technology, the same displays that will be available in the unreleased Nintendo 3DS.
Users can adjust the amount of 3D, and even disable it completely.
Rockchip has dubbed their tablet the Supernova x1 but little will be known officially about the device until the IFA in September.
Pictures show a 3.4-to-4-inch screen, a microSD slot, a USB port, SES Astra’s 3D channel and volume controls.
You can view a slideshow of pics here: Rockchip Supernova x1 via Engadget
Sony working on glasses-free 3D TVs, as well
Last week, Toshiba announced they are currently developing 3D HDTVs that do not require any special glasses.
Sony has made a similar announcement today, working on 3DTVs it hopes can be released by early 2011
“Seeing 3-D without glasses is more convenient,” says Yoshihisa Ishida, Sony SVP. “We must take account of pricing before we can think about when to start offering them.”
Panasonic and Sony have already released 3D HDTVs, both the displays require special (and usually expensive) glasses.
Sony says it will take the top spot in 3D TVs and Blu-ray player market share in Japan, thanks to its movie studio.
Microsoft founder Allen sues Google, Apple, eBay and many more
Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, has begun a campaign of patent infringement lawsuits against companies ranging from YouTube and Facebook to eBay and Office Depot.
Allen’s patents were originally granted to his company, Interval Media, which shut down in 2006. The company w
“We recognize that innovation has a value, and patents are the way to protect that,” said a spokesman for Allen. When asked about the notable absence of Microsoft and Amazon from the suit,
the spokesman wrote in an email, “This is the most recent step in a long process, but it is not necessarily the end of the process.”
But do the patents themselves actually have any value? If so, why wasn’t Allen’s company able to make money on them to begin with?
The patents include 6,757,682, “Alerting Users To Items of Current Interest,” which covers suggesting items from an online store based on the content of the current page. AOL, Apple, eBay, Facebook, Google, Netflix, Office Depot, Office Max, Staples, Yahoo & YouTube are all accused of infringing on this patent.
The first question which comes to mind is how this wouldn’t be considered obvious for anyone in the online selling industry? Just because something hasn’t been worked out in code already doesn’t mean other developers haven’t thought of it.
More likely, what it means is either it’s a solution for an as of yet non-existent (or at least minor) problem or it’s simply not something they’ve decided to implement (or prioritize).
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Toshiba Folio 100 will run Android 2.2
NotebookItalia has leaked the specs for the upcoming Toshiba Folio 100, which many had been calling the “SmartPad.”
The tablet should be the first true competitor to the Apple iPad as it packs some powerful features.
Toshiba’s Folio 100 will have a 10.1-inch widescreen WSVGA display, run Android 2.2 Froyo, work on a Nvidia Tegra 2 processor and include 16GB of internal memory.
Additionally, the tablet will have 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G, GPS, a 1.3MP webcam and an SD card reader with support up to 32GB.
As for ports, the Folio 100 has a USB 2.0 port, and HDMI port and a USB 2.0 mini audio jack.
Separating it even further from the iPad is the fact that the tablet supports the Opera Mobile Browser with Flash 1.10.
Toshiba is also expected to start its own small app store to complement the Android Market.
HTC Incredible owners now getting Android 2.2
Verizon Wireless has started rolling out Android 2.2 Froyo to HTC Incredible owners this weekend.
Froyo brings a 450 percent performance boost over 2.1, native support for Flash 10.1, USB and Wi-Fi tethering, Apps2SD and cloud sync.
Since the start of August, the Nexus One, the HTC EVO 4G and the original Motorola Droid have updated to 2.2. Additionally, the Droid 2 has launched with the updated software already installed.
A few other phones, such as the Dell Streak, Motorola Droid X, HTC MyTouch 3G Slide and Samsung Captivate have all had 2.2 promised but with no set timetable.
The rollout should be completed by the end of the week.
To download the update, go to Settings, About Phone, System Updates. The update is about 93.7MB.
iPad orders finally ship within 24 hours
Fortune has reported today that Apple iPad orders are finally shipping within 24 hours, the first time the tablet has shipped within a day since its launch in April.
It took 170 days for supply to catch up to demand on the popular tablet.
Apple has been struggling to get production moving since the iPad sold out during launch weekend.
The iPad 3G launch was pushed back a few weeks and the international rollout of the tablet was pushed back a full month.
Orders from Apple.com, at their worst, had shipping delays of 15 business days. By May, that number had dropped to 7-10 and by July it had hit 3 days.
The iPhone 4 still has a three-week delay.
