iPhone comes to Ireland and Austria
Although it was
announced months ago the Apple iPhone has finally made its
way to Ireland and Austria, via O2 and T-Mobile,
respectively.
In Ireland, the 8GB model of the phone will cost 399 euros while the 16GB
model will cost 100 euro more. A standard 45 euro monthly contract will give
users 175 anytime minutes, 100 texts, and 1GB internet data. A 65 euro per
month contract will get you 350 minutes, 150 texts and 1GB data and a very
expensive 100 euro plan will get you 700 minutes, 250 texts, and the same
data. Making the offer even less appealing, Irish iPhone users will not get the
amazing “Visual Voicemail” or the free Cloud Wi-Fi access.
For those still interested despite the crippled features and lack of a
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2Wire introduces HD capable set-top box
2Wire has introduced its new MediaPoint set-top box that will deliver high definition content via a broadband connection.
The media hub can connect to home networks through wired or wireless connections and can also be remotely accessed via the Internet.
The box’s built-in USB ports allow users to stream all types of video and audio content from flash drives or external hard drives and the device is compatible with UPnP- and DLNA-enabled devices.
Electronista says the box will offer Internet browsing capability through your TV set but the interface method is unknown at this point. Internet radio is another interesting feature you will be able to access from the device.
The device will not be available to consumers directly and instead will come through ISPs such as Comcast and AT&T who purchase them, and “then offer specific content and options for the MediaPoint under their own respective brands.”
Rumor has it the device will sell for $89 USD but will likely be accompanied with a subscription service and contract.
Blockbuster to release set-top box
Finally putting an end to weeks of rumors, Blockbuster has announced they will be building a set-top box that can stream digital movies to user’s TVs.
The move can be seen as a way for the struggling company to compete with rival Netflix which has been making deal after deal to add to their streaming library.
Blockbuster CEO, Jim Keyes, added that the device will be brand associated with its Movielink rental and purchase service but did not disclose any other details. For the time being, cost, hardware and software specs and release date are unknown but Keyes did note the box would be available for the holiday season.
The new device may be too little too late for Blockbuster however as Netflix has had their own set top box (the Netflix player by Roku) available for almost a year. Netflix has also recently signed a deal with Microsoft to have its subscribers stream movies free of charge on Xbox 360 consoles.
Home entertainment tech not just for the young says analyst
The results of a study from ABI Research on the affects of age on technology use show an interesting, and perhaps somewhat unexpected trend. It’s no shock to find that people age 65 and older are less likely to use things like Video on Demand (VOD) or game consoles than those between 18 and 25. What may surprise you is that people in the older demographic may be just as likely to adopt new technology once they try it out.
For example, the study found that although only 35% of people age 65 or higher have used VOD, compared to double that number between the ages of 25 and 29, in both cases those who use it once typically continue to use it at least once a month afterward.
The results for console use were even more surprising. While market penetration in the 18-25 demographic saw no growth over the last year, for those 65 and older there was a 200% increase. This may explain the trend toward increased gaming related sales offsetting falling home video revenue.
But there are still some technologies that don’t show any signs of appealing to the older crowd. Video downloads, while popular with very young people, isn’t showing any signs of popularity with even middle aged consumers.
According to ABI Research principal analyst Steve Wilson that’s likely a result of inherent flaws with the process. He says “The lack of wide video download popularity in all but the youngest group can very likely be attributed to inconsistencies in the process, a result of the industry’s immaturity.”
Fall Out Boy to introduce first “interactive CD booklet” for iPhone
Perhaps the biggest loss in the transition from physical media to downloaded music is the extras packaged with CDs. Just as the transition from records to cassette tapes and CDs meant the end of some types of content that didn’t work in the smaller medium, the movement to CD means the elimination of much of it entirely. Some people who miss this extra content would like to see someone find a replacement.
The band Fall Out Boy and their label, Island Records, think they’ve come up with something that fits the bill. They’ve updated the idea of liner notes and produced an iPhone application that will be offered through the iTunes App Store prior to the release of their new album, “Folie a Deux,” due to be available on December 16.
The application will include a web-like interface that provides interactive liner notes including photos and lyrics from the upcoming album as well as past releases. And of course there will also be links to buy their music from iTunes. The band will also be able to provide future updates like social networking features to keep fans in touch with the band and even help them find each other via the iPhone 3G’s built in GPS.
But don’t expect this kind of application to suddenly appear for every artist, or even the majority. “We can’t do for everybody what we’re doing for Fall Out Boy,” said Island Def Jam senior VP of new media and commerce Christian Jorg. “This is an artist we think has the right target demo, we know the iPhone is successful with that demo and has great capabilities, and we’d like to put a product out there that speaks to that demo.”
iPhone tethering coming says AT&T Mobile chief
As popular as the iPhone has been, one important feature that has been missing is the ability to share its mobile internet connection with a computer. Reports from the Web 2.0 Summit seem to indicate that’s about to change. Several sources are reporting that AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph De La Vega told tech columnist Michael Arrington an official method for tethering the iPhone to a computer to act as a modem is on the way.
In July an application called NetShare was added to the iTunes App Store for tethering an iPhone to a computer via a wireless network connection. Within hours it mysteriously disappeared. Although there was no official explanation from Apple, it was most likely removed to keep AT&T customers from using it. Although there are other phones that can already be tethered to use as modems, doing so without a separate data plan for your computer violates AT&T’s Terms of Service.
Specifically, the TOS state “plans(unless specifically designated for tethering usage) cannot be used for any applications that tether the device (through use of, including without limitation, connection kits, other phone/PDA-to computer accessories, Bluetooth or any other wireless technology) to Personal Computers (including without limitation, laptops), or other equipment for any purpose.”
There doesn’t seem to be any indication that this policy will be changing. More likely this is intended as a way to make sure people tethering their iPhones are paying for the extra data plan. It can already be done on a jailbroken iPhone, a method that doesn’t give AT&T any ability to control whether the user
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First stable release of Theora video codec finally available
The Xiph.Org Foundation has just announced the release of Theora 1.0. Theora is an open source video codec designed to be a royalty free alternative to high compression formats like MPEG-4.
Theora is based on the proprietary VP3 codec developed by On2 Technologies, but is licensed under a BSD-style license. This means it doesn’t have any of the common open source restrictions on commercial software like forcing derivative works to also be released under as open source.
Even though the format itself has been unchanged since 2004, as the first official stable release Theora 1.0 is still a major milestone. In order to attract the interest of commercial software and especially hardware developers stability, or at least the perception of stability, is an important consideration.
Another aspect of Theora its developers hope will be significant is its relatively low CPU footprint. That makes it particularly suitable for mobile devices like smartphones and portable media players.
Still, it remains to be seen if it can truly become an industry standard (in any industry). It may be that the widespread support for standards like MPEG-4 ASP (DivX, XviD, Nero Digital, etc,… ), MPEG-4 AVC (H.264), and VC-1 already in place will prove more of a factor than any perceived benefits to Theora.
Plex media player hands-on
Prologue
For some reason the ever increasing crowd of people in search for the ultimate media player have been disappointed by one application after another. The task is not a simple one for the developers as the complete package should feature an easy-to-use and comprehensive user interface, support for nearly every file format and punch to run the finest Full HD resolution. So far we haven’t come across a device or program that fully meets these requirements. Xbox 360 let the XBMC fanatics down as did PS3 and its limited file support. PC hardware-based HTPCs usually require more or less advanced setups and UI lessons for the non-tech-savvy family members.
Plex is designed to deliver just about everything we need from a media player. Plex (OSXBMC) is a Mac OS X version of the XBMC media player (XBox Media Center) which was considered to be the best media player before it became obsolete due to a lack of support for Full HD video or digital video outputs. In addition, the hard to find Xbox needs to be modified with a modchip to run XBMC. The developers of Plex promise a complete format support and an extensive appearance customization.
In this hands-on we tested the Plex’s media playback and network features as well as usability and user interface.
Plex is available only for Mac OS X and requires the Leopard version of the OS as well as Intel-based Mac computer, so unfortunately older Macs are unable to run the application.
Dell mini-MP3 player won’t show this year
According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, Dell Inc. will not bring a mini MP3 player to the market this year tied to online entertainment software before the holidays. The company has reportedly been testing a prototype of a mini-MP3 player that is based on the company’s Zing software. The MP3 player had been expected to show up sometime during the fall of 2008.
The Zing software is designed solely for entertainment content that is acquired over the Internet. It downloads and organized movie and music content. The Wall Street Journal cites a source familiar with the matter as saying the company has decided to hold off on releasing the music player indefinitely, but to continue to develop and push its Zing software project.
Grand Theft Auto cited in sex attacks trial
Is there anything you can’t blame video games for? A recent trial saw a 19 year old sentenced for multiple sex attacks against women. The teenager from Ashford, Kent reportedly took to the streets drunk and stoned looking for women. In one case he broke the arm of a woman in her 40s by dragging her down a hill before sexually assaulting her. In a search of his home, police found a video game that they evidently thought was significant enough to note.
It was, of course, one of the Grand Theft Auto series of games. Remembering that the teenager was reportedly drunk and high at the times of the two attacks that he admitted, the Prosecutor, Eleanor Laws (yes, the Prosecutor!) noted that the amount of time the defendant spent playing the game “may go some way to explaining his attitude towards women.”
Perhaps the prosecutor should consider another line of work where her opinion is professional and not intended to make an excuse for a sex offender as she did, in fact, weigh in on a debate that is unresolved by experts who actually study it. He is also 19 years old, this is not a case of a minor being exposed to a game rated for an adult. He is an adult. Or maybe I am wrong, and the Prosecutor only intended it as personal opinion.
Judge Philip Statman noted in his judgment, though “it is not for this court to enter into this controversy as to whether such conduct is encouraged by pornographic material and video games such as Grand Theft Auto which seems, in my judgment and from what I have heard and read, does show scant respect for women.”
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