So Halo Wars, which comes out in North America on March 3, has gone gold. (Unless, of course, Microsoft is lying to us.) That means, for the non-nerds in the house, that the game is all done and Microsoft is busying pressing copy after copy in some plant somewhere. → Read More
Conspiracy theorists, start your engines.
Right now if you run a Google search for “palm pre” from a mobile phone, you’ll be shown that there are 0 pages related to Palm’s upcoming smartphone, which will soon faceoff with Google’s Android, Blackberry, and the iPhone in the battle for touch-screen supremacy.
In fact, a number of searches with the world “Palm” in it are turning up zero results (even “palm tree”), though many searches still work just fine. The bug seems to have existed for at least the last two days according to recent tweets.
The issue seems to only be affecting Google’s mobile site, which is used for both the iPhone and the G1 (as well as a number of other phones).
Update: Looks like the problem has been fixed. → Read More
ot too long ago we asked how you would improve the PSP if given half a chance. One response, and a common thread on many a message board, was to add a second joystick (or “nub”), making the task of porting over PS2 games, and generally delivering a more console-like experience, all the more easy for developers. One such developer, Sony Bend, which developed the PSP Syphon Filter games, is meeting us halfway, and making it so that you’re able to play the upcoming Resistance: Retribution with your PS3′s Sixaxis. Handy. → Read More
EA Sports recently updated the rosters and player stats for both the Cardinals and the Steelers and squared the two teams off against each other in a simulation of the upcoming Super Bowl. → Read More
Red hot Stockholm-based music startup Spotify has appointed Gustav Söderström as director of “portable solutions”. This clearly means Spotify intends to exand its music streaming service into the mobile arena. Söderström is a serial entrepreneur, joining Yahoo! in 2006 after his early-player mobile social software company Kenet Works AB was acquired. For the last two years he’s been Director of Product Management and later Director of Business Development in Yahoo! but clearly the startup life has tempted him again. Daniel Ek is CEO of Spotify. He says on his blog today: Like many others , my first time using Spotify gave me that very rare ”Wooha!, wait a minute!”-feeling. I got that same feeling using Skype for the first time a few years back. It wasn’t the VoIP technology, I’d used loads of other VoIP apps before, it was the implementation of the service. The fact that it just worked! I didn’t have to care about firewalls, NATs, VoIP servers or user SIP domains (because they didn’t use SIP). And the core proposition of the service, voice, had awesome quality! Even more importantly, because of this, my friends, and even my parents, got it to work! More tellingly he says: “Starting in February, I will head up something that a lot of users have already requested and discussed extensively, Spotify on the Mobile.” This is a key win for Spotify. I interviewed Söderström four years ago for some research into mobile social networking and it was clear then that this was a guy who is technically and strategically very adept. Spotify is getting a lot of great press at the moment and is understood to have raised a massive €15.3m from Northzone Venture Partners. CrunchBase Information Spotify Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
Oh, boy! Apple and Palm are going to fight each other on the playground after school. Such is how we have to present the coming Pre v. iPhone “showdown,” you know, because it’s far easier to present something as a “battle” or “war” than it is to merely explain what’s going on: two companies [will] have similar products available. But no! Bang the drums, sound the alarm, hide the women and children! Or, as might All Things Digital puts it, “Palm to Apple: Bring It.” → Read More
DailyFill, a gossip site in the same vein as TMZ and Perez Hilton, is off to an impressive start. Less than two months after launch, Quantcast is already reporting 1.7 million unique visitors – a figure on par with PopSugar’s traffic numbers (though we should note that the Sugar network as a whole sees much more traffic).
The site first grabbed attention because it was created by Slingshot Labs, a startup incubator owned by News Corp. The incubator also has ties to MySpace (also a News Corp property), though it is a separate company. → Read More
The Apple Air had a great big target slapped onto it once Jobs unveiled it. Now Quanta is the latest to enter the niche market of ultra-thin notebooks. Previously, Quanta made their cash by manufacturing computers for others, most notably, Apple so this notebook will probably bring the goods. → Read More
Rumors ’bout the Verizon Hub/One (concept pictured) have been circulating the Internet for ages now but Verizon just made it official with what seems to be a February 1st, 2009 launch date. Specific hardware details are skecty, along with pricing $199 after a $50 MIR with a $35 a month fee, however, Verizon says they will fill in the blanks shortly. It seems that the Hub is designed to replace the computer for casual info gathering. The device will be fully connected to the internet via broadband (doesn’t have to be Verizon) and allows for remote management of the apps which means you can create a calander event from work and it will update at the Hub. Hopefully more details will drop ’cause Verzion seems to have an innovated product on their hands. Full press release after the jump. → Read More
If you know a boy between 6 and 12 who likes cars, check out the beta for a new virtual world designed by Ridemakerz, the build-your-own-car toy store. We have invites here.
The toy store commissioned the Electric Sheep Co. to build a browser-based virtual world for boys based on its Webflock platform. When I wrote about Ridemakerz back in December, here is how I described the project: → Read More
Here’s a tip: next time your company creates a snazzy marketing slogan make sure it isn’t misleading. Microsoft may be liable to the tune of $8.5 billion as a result of so many people buying “Vista Capable” PCs in the run up to Vista’s release in January, 2007. The problem is that, to the average person, “Vista Capable” means, “Hey, I can run Vista.” And you can, but only the most basic “this is Vista?” version. → Read More
Since the G1′s launch way back in October, the only folks who could walk into a T-Mobile retail store and walk out with Android in their pocket were those who lived in an area covered by T-Mo’s (still fairly limited) 3G network. Sure, you could order them at any store – but for the most part, that meant having a store employee walk you through the same online process you could have done at home. Fortunately, word just came down that that’s all about to change; beginning tomorrow, January 24th, the G1 will be available in all T-Mobile Retail spots and Retail Partner locations. If you’re in a 3G-less area, are clamoring for a G1, and just can’t do without that feeling of handing your cash over to a living, breathing person (or have a deathly fear of delivery men), your day has finally come. → Read More
President Obama will hold onto his Blackberry for personal communication but anything government related that is considered classified will probably be handled on the Sectera Edge. We published some pictures of the General Dynamics device when we broke the news ’bout Obama’s Blackberry plans last week, but CNN got a short video demo explaining the devices capabilities; yes, they do demo the classified button. Only time will tell if Obama actually carries both devices though. Video after the break. → Read More
I like how the plural of “gentleman” is used here to promote the idea that this scrotum scratching apparatus might somehow be shared amongst two or more people. Call me crazy but where I come from, a gentleman should carry his own Ballscratcher, razor, and toothbrush. → Read More
Victor JVC Japan today announced the HP-DX700 [JP], headphones with wooden housing for better sound quality. The device, which goes in sale in Nippon in the middle of next month, weighs 380 grams. It operates in a 5Hz to 30kHz frequency. → Read More
It’s a thought we’ve all had at one point or another: “Instead of having to decide between handsets with QWERTY and those without, why not just make the keyboard detachable?” Unfortunately, the majority of us aren’t major handset manufacturers with the power to make such things happen, so the idea slipped back into the “Things I wish other people would make” bank, along with lightsabers and practical jetpacks. This morning, when Snap315 posted images of the LG VX9600 Versa to HowardForums, this oft-dreamed about concept took its first big step toward becoming a reality. → Read More
The business-centric Wind U120 from MSI is ready to be shipped to your home or business. It’s available on J&R for $469.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate. However, if you buy it from J&R through Amazon.com, it’s just $469.99 out the door. → Read More
On February 7, Bandai Japan is coming out with a new gadget [JP] that will tell help women how well they understand men. The Onna Dameshi (Girl Tester) comes with a total of pre-installed 100 questions, such as “What phrase will make boys happy when said out of jealousy by their girlfriends?” or “What type of hair style do men usually prefer their girlfriends to have?”. → Read More
Attention attention. Those of you who want the T-Mobile Bold 8900 please report to your local telephony stores and pester the kind men and women behind the counter to get it in because it seems to be shipping to select outlets. TMoNews has some pictures of the unboxing which I’m sure you’ll all enjoy. → Read More
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