The Technology Worlds

AMD talks critical 'incidents' in Intel rivalry

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:03:00 -0700

During a recent phone interview with CNet, Tom McCoy, AMD’s senior vice president of legal affairs discussed a few critical moments when its rivalry with Intel got particularly nasty. He believes that whenever AMD came up with new-generation technologies that could to pose a threat to Intel, the latter would just turn up the heat and break the law; citing the introduction of Athlon in 1999 as an example.

Back then, AMD's processor showed superior performance compared to the reigning champion, Pentium III, in pretty much every benchmark. McCoy claims the same happened in 2003 with the introduction of Opteron for the server market, whose use of an integrated memory controller and its focus on energy efficiency caught Intel off guard. Furthermore, he claims that AMD doesn't care about the $1.45 billion fine the European Commission slapped on Intel, but rather about the injunction on these kinds of practices that prevent their technology from getting to market.

Intel however believes the market already does a good job regulating itself, claiming that if Intel technology did not perform well and their product roadmap was not strong enough, customers would simply go elsewhere. Of course, AMD’s whole case was based on the fact that Intel paid or offered hidden rebates to manufacturers and retailers so that they only use their chips, leaving customers with nowhere else to go.

AT&T's 2009 smartphone lineup leaks online

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:02:00 -0700

A handful of slides supposedly leaked from AT&T surfaced over the weekend, showing just about every smartphone coming to the carrier for the rest of the year. These include devices running Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, Palm WebOS, and Android operating systems; so you may find them particularly valuable in helping you plan out possible future purchases.

First up is the HTC Fortress, AT&T’s version of the HTC Touch Pro2, which is expected to run on Windows Mobile 6.1 (presumably upgradeable to 6.5 down the road) and will feature a slide-out QWERTY keyboard as well as a large touch screen display. A branded variant of the HTC Touch Diamond2, described as Warhawk, will follow in September boasting a similar touch screen display but no hardware keyboard. HTC also plans a new Android handset, dubbed Lancaster, which is aimed at social networking and features a sideways-sliding keyboard.

It seems the HTC Lancaster was originally planned for an August launch, though that could be delayed in order to put AT&T’s user interface on the device, rather than Google’s. Additionally the slides mention Palm’s Eos, a successor to the Centro that is expected to run WebOS, as well as an iPAQ smartphone from HP and a few BlackBerry devices that include a new Pearl supporting 3G and the upcoming Onyx.

Canonical working on Android emulator for Ubuntu

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:01:00 -0700

Android enthusiasts, developers or just plain curious sorts might find this interesting. Canonical is working on an execution environment for Android software to run inside an Ubuntu system, bringing all its applications to the desktop. The increasingly-popular mobile platform has seen a lot of speculation regarding its future, including plans to bring it to netbooks or other non-phone devices, and this seems like a firm step in that direction.

Eventually Canonical plans to publish the environment, along with its corresponding source code, for any Linux user to tinker with it. At such an early stage, they've produced little to note, but it makes you wonder if there are other developers working on similar projects behind closed doors. With the line between smartphones and desktops getting thinner, and given the open nature of Android, I can imagine a lot of people would find this interesting. Any increased awareness in Android is going to be beneficial from Google's perspective, and this is doubly true since the launch of their app store, which will need a lot of developer support to become strong.

Android phones make their way to China

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:01:00 -0700

Even more good news for Android today, HTC has recently announced that they have been working up a deal with China Mobile to bring handsets sporting the Google-backed platform into the country. HTC will be using their Magic smartphone model for this latest endeavor, which will be powered by a localized version of Android to meet the needs of China Mobile – though what exactly this localization entails isn’t clear. Hopefully such changes won't serve to make Android less open, as that has been one of its selling points since the beginning.

Other manufacturers have their sights set on China as well, including Lenovo, Samsung and LG. HTC may get a first to market advantage, though; if all goes as planned their first Android-based phones for China will go on sale next month. The move has the potential to greatly increase Android's market share, which will then put the onus on the Open Handset Alliance to ensure the platform gets the level of support it will need. They may face interesting challenges with the addition of a market like China, with “modified” versions of Android potentially becoming commonplace. Supporting various iterations of Android won't be an easy task.

Mac clone maker Psystar files for bankruptcy

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:01:00 -0700

Last we heard about Psystar they were touting some small but significant progress in their ongoing legal battle against Apple. However, in an interesting turn of events, it is now being reported that the unauthorized Mac clone maker has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company pins its financial mess on the poor economy and its suppliers’ increasingly difficult credit terms, though others speculate the Psystar bankruptcy may indicate that its legal backers may have dropped out.

Apple has maintained that Psystar received considerable financial backing from one or more unknown third-parties that want to see OS X licensing policies loosened. No names have ever been confirmed, but if such an arrangement has been taking place, the companies in question would be exposed on June 5, the date of the bankruptcy hearing. In the meantime, the company will be to continue to do business, but all legal actions against them will be put on hold as the bankruptcy court begins its proceedings.

Shuttle to unveil Via-based desktops at Computex

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:00:00 -0700

Via Technologies is slowly making its way into more systems with its Nano processor line. Both Samsung and Lenovo have announced netbooks featuring the low-power chips, while Dell recently unveiled a new server product based around the Nano platform. Now we are hearing that Shuttle, known for its small form factor systems, has two Nano-based desktops coming as well as part of their Embedded Slim series.

The XS92 and XS92F are “geared at light PC users” and will feature the L-series and U-series Nano processors, respectively. The first of these chips offers clock speeds of up to 1.8GHz and 25W thermal peak power consumption, while the latter ranges in clock speed from 1GHz to 1.3GHz but consumes a mere 5W to 8W – which also eliminates the need for a fan. Unfortunately, no further details have been revealed other that they are expected to start shipping sometime in June. Full specs and pricing details should be available at Computex.

Download of the Week: Notepad++

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:59:00 -0700

One of the best free advanced text editors, Notepad++, has undergone a slew of changes and version 5.4 is now available. If you’re unfamiliar with the program, it is an editor which supports an enormous spectrum of languages including C, C++, C#, Java, Javascript, XML, HTML, PHP, SQL, Objective-C, CSS, Pascal, Perl, Python, Lua, RC resource, Makefile, ASCII art, Doxygen, INI, batch, ASP and VB/VBS source files. It also made our list of top applications to install on a fresh operating system.

Updated features include an added theme selector to switch styles.xml on the fly, a Google Chrome drag and drop feature, the ability to mark any occurrence with 5 separate colors, column selection, UTF16 detection without BOM, dynamically scaled fine numbers margin and quite a few other updates. Along with the impressive set of new functions, the program has seen several bug fixes and other tweaks. You can download Notepad++ 5.4 (2.57MB) here at TechSpot. The complete change log is present on the download page.

Take-Two officially dates BioShock 2 for October 30

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:58:00 -0700

During Take-Two's second quarter financial conference call, CEO Ben Feder has more or less confirmed the release dates for BioShock 2, claiming the highly-anticipated title will hit Europe on October 30 and the U.S. on November 3.

The game is expected to see a simultaneous launch on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms, but Take-Two's own documentation continues to list the SKUs as “TBA,” leading to speculation that a timed-exclusivity announcement may be on the way. Take-Two was reluctant to comment on this, however, adding only that these dates are considered “tentative” and subject to change.

BioShock 2 is set ten years after the events of the original game and places gamers in the shoes of a Big Daddy – the very first Big Daddy ever made in fact. New enemies arrive in the form of other Big Daddies as well as Big Sisters, and a multiplayer mode will be available for the first time, adding to the game's overall narrative with a prequel set during the fall of Rapture. You can see some of the first gameplay footage of the game here.

Intel unveils eight-core Nehalem EX

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:57:00 -0700

Intel has previewed a new Xeon processor designed for high-end servers, codenamed “Nehalem EX,” that will reportedly feature 8 cores inside a single chip and, thanks to Hyper-Threading, is capable of supporting as many as 16 program threads at the same time. In a briefing today, the company announced that it is on track to enter production of the chip by the end of the year, and expects to be shipping them by early 2010.

Nehalem EX will also double the memory capacity with up to 16 memory slots per processor socket, and offer four high-bandwidth QuickPath Interconnect links, which will allow for four-socket or eight-socket systems with as many as 32 or 64 cores and twice as many threads. Other specs include 24MB of shared L3 cache and support for Turbo Boost to shut down some cores and overclock others on programs that need few code threads.

In comparison with the current four-core and six-core “Dunnington” Xeon 7400 processors, Intel says the new Nehalem EX will deliver up to nine times the memory bandwidth, 2.5 times the database performance, 1.7 times the integer throughput, and 2.2 times the floating-point throughput.

HP recalls more laptop batteries

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:57:00 -0700

Earlier this month, HP revealed that a good number of batteries they had sold across several laptop models were defective. The situation resulted in a recall of 70,000 batteries, with HP issuing replacements for anyone who was affected. It appears that the scope of the problem was a bit larger than initially estimated, though, as now a further 15,000 batteries are up for recall following further inspection.

These batteries were only distributed in China, whereas the previous batch was distributed in the U.S. The situation echoes the battery woes that many manufacturers dealt with a few years ago, primarily Sony, but is nowhere near the same in size. Even with advancements in battery technology, will portable power always carry that chance of a defective batch resulting in customers’ laptops catching fire? Personally, I'm surprised we see it as little as we do.

Microsoft provides details about Zune HD

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:56:00 -0700

Microsoft has finally officially confirmed the Zune HD’s existence with some hardware specifications and even an estimated time of availability. As it was speculated all along, the device is meant to compete head to head with Apple’s iPod Touch and could arrive this coming fall.

It will feature a 3.3-inch capacitive OLED touch screen with 480x272 resolution, which will offer some kind of multi-touch functionality, HD radio tuner, HD (720p) video-out, the ability to browse the Web and play high-definition movies. The latest Zune will also be the world’s first portable media player to pack HD radio, which provides song and artist info in addition to spruced up sound quality over conventional radio.

The Zune HD’s 720p output will allow users to feed high-def video to their TV via a dock. The company says that its Zune-branded video service will replace the Xbox 360’s current Xbox Live marketplace for TV and movies. More information regarding the Zune’s Xbox integration and presumably other aspects of Microsoft’s latest attempt at an iPod-killer will be available during E3 next week. For now though, it’s nice to have official recognition, some specifications and an idea of when to expect the device.

Xbox 360 to provide British Sky Broadcasting services?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:55:00 -0700

According to a report from Rapid TV News, Microsoft will be partnering up with subscription television service British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB). Back in July of 2007, the broadcasting company’s COO Mike Darcey confirmed that it was in talks with Redmond over the prospect of using Microsoft’s Windows Media as a service delivery method.

The obvious but albeit speculated plan at this point is that some form of BSkyB’s TV service will be used on Microsoft’s Xbox 360 gaming console. If it’s true, the service could be used to broaden BSkyB’s reach by millions through Xbox 360 users in the UK and Ireland. A more detailed announcement is said to be expected on Friday, May 29.

London-based BT Vision, who also offers pay television services, has information on their Wikipedia page stating that they too will be broadcasting through the Xbox 360, via IPTV. While Microsoft reportedly provides the technology backbone for BT Vision’s service, Rapid TV News believes an Xbox function is still in the distance.

Apple planning to build $1 billion server farm?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:55:00 -0700

Apple, who is somewhat notoriously elusive, is supposedly planning to build a new server farm in the US that may cost as much as $1 billion. It would effectively dwarf the former WorldCom/MCI data center it purchased in 2006. According to the Associated Press, an official, but anonymous leaked memo, suggests that the state of North Carolina is attempting to coax Apple into constructing the server farm in their territory.

The bait is apparently a $46 million tax break. The break applies to companies with a significant portion of their US property and payroll taxes located in NC – something which no company presently qualifies for, the memo notes. If Apple were to build its conceptual server farm in the state, it would have to spend the $1 billion within 9 years to be eligible for the discount. North Carolina offered Google some $100 million in tax incentives over 30 years if the search giant agreed to build a $600 million data center in the state back in 2007, a deal which the company accepted.

Skynet, here we come. I kid – but really, what could Apple possibly need a billion dollar server farm for? Obvious suggestions include more muscle for their continuously growing list of services such as iTunes, MobileMe and the App Store; though, isn’t $1 billion worth of servers overkill?

Apple quietly updates $999 MacBook, tosses in free iPod for students

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:54:00 -0700

Apple has bumped the specs on its entry-level white MacBook with a faster Intel processor, memory architecture and more hard disk space. The update was announced quietly on the company’s online store, which now has the aforementioned laptop at the same $999 but featuring a 2.13GHz Core 2 Duo processor, up from 2.0GHz, in addition to a 160GB hard drive and 2GB of 800MHz DDR2 RAM; up from the 120GB hard drive and 667MHz memory on the previous model.

Apple also advertises up to 5 hours of battery life, a small increase over the previously advertised 4.5 hours. Otherwise all is the same, including the Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics with 256MB RAM, built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, Gigabit Ethernet, two USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire 400 port, a Mini-DVI port, built-in iSight camera, and an 8x SuperDrive.

In addition, the new white MacBook is eligible for Apple's just-announced Back-to-School promo, which offers up to a $229 rebate good for a free 8GB iPod touch to qualifying education individuals who purchase the media player along with a qualifying Mac on the same receipt before September 8th.

News around the web: Full HD 3D Panel from LG

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:52:00 -0700

Full HD 3D Monitor Panel from LG, With Video @ Akihabara
How technology lifts Pixar's 'Up' @ News.com
Hi-tech aims to improve lifestyle @ BBC News
Guitar Hero 5 opening Sept. 1 @ GameSpot
See more articles and reviews.

Five years ago in TechSpot:

Microsoft considering XBox-PC hybrid

Storage

Thecus N3200Pro NAS Review @ Overclockers Online

Video

Sapphire Radeon 4890 Vapor-X @ PureOverclock
Albatron HD 4830 Green 512 MB @ techPowerUp
Sparkle GTX260 Core 216 GeForce GTX 260 Videocard Review @ PCSTATS

Misc.

Google Docs Templates @ VIA Arena
Flip Video UltraHD Pocket Digital Camcorder Review @ Futurelooks
Axentra HipServ 2.0/Marvell Sheeva Plug - Plug Computing @ Legit Reviews

Displays

AOC 2216Sw and AOC 619Fh @ InsideHW

Power Supplies

Black & Decker PowerToGo Review @ OCModShop

Peripherals

Roccat Kave Review @ XSReviews
Future Sonics Atrio Earphones review @ Driverheaven

Cooling

Thermaltake ISGC-400 CPU Cooler Review @ OCC
Thermaltake MeOrb Low Profile CPU Cooler @ DreamWare Computers
SilenX Ixtrema IXC-120HA2 Pro Series Heatpipe CPU Cooler Review @ Tweaknews

Cases

NZXT Beta Mid-Tower @ Techgage.com
Cooler Master HAF 922 PC Case Review @ I4U

Routers

WL-308 Wireless 300N XR Gigabit Gaming Router @ Pro-Clockers

Motherboards

Early look at GIGABYTE P55-UD5 and UD4P mobos @ TweakTown

Processors

AMD Phenom II X3 On Linux @ Phoronix

Notebooks

HP Compaq Presario CQ60-214EM @ TechRadar
Acer Aspire Timeline 4810T - Time After Time @ HardwareZone

Unreal Tournament 3 free on Steam this weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:51:00 -0700

Epic has announced that Unreal Tournament 3 Black – a package comprising of the full game and Titan expansion pack – will be free to download and play via Steam starting tomorrow Thursday and through the weekend. Those interested in taking part can start downloading the files now from Valve’s Steam digital distribution service so you’ll be able to play it the moment the free play period begins.

You may remember a similar promotion was available for two weekends in March to celebrate the release of the Titan Pack. Back then, the number of simultaneous players rose by over 2000% and the game was pushed to the top of Steam’s bestseller list. Epic also told players who already own a retail copy of Unreal Tournament 3 they can enter their activation key into Steam and download the extra content for free – as it has always been.

Samsung demos flexible AMOLED display prototype

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:51:00 -0700

Ongoing advancements in display technology have seen several prototypes being shown off recently, from HP’s flexible display made almost entirely out of plastic, to Philips’ transparent OLED concept and a bendable, stretchable screen prototype developed by researchers at the University of Tokyo. Samsung Mobile Display has been doing some progress on this front as well, announcing today a new 6.5-inch flexible AMOLED prototype.

According to the company, this prototype is the most flexible one they're done so far and lowers manufacturing costs significantly – helping them near mass production. The technology is still young, but promises faster response times and lower power consumption compared to traditional LCD technology. While Samsung wouldn’t confirm any shipping estimates for production panels, the company expects the technology to find its way into e-passports, military maps, watches, cell phones and more

HP expands Mini lineup with three new netbooks

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:51:00 -0700

HP may have been a tad late to the netbook market, but the company is serious about grabbing a larger piece of the pie. Today they are expanding their lineup with three new models that are aesthetically close to the current 10-inch Mini 1000 but bring several new options: The HP Mini 1101 will be available with a user’s choice of XP or Vista, the 110 Mobile Internet (Mi) Edition will sport Linux, and the 110 XP will offer Windows XP and an optional video accelerator from Broadcom which the company claims can handle 1080p video content.

All three models will be powered by either a 1.6GHz or 1.66GHz Intel Atom N270 or N280 processor, sport 10.1-inch screens and 92% full-size keyboards, wireless connectivity and offer a number of built-to-order options – including battery, memory and storage upgrades as well as 3G connectivity on the 1101. This business-centric model is due to ship first, arriving June 1 for a competitive $329, while the 110 Mini XP and Mi versions should appear on June 10 with a “black swirl” design at their respective prices of $329 and $279

Several leaks suggest 32GB iPhone is coming

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:50:00 -0700

When Apple works as hard as they do to avoid releasing information about upcoming products, speculation is all what the media has to go on. Such has been the case with the next iteration of the iPhone, which is currently expected and all but confirmed to be a 32GB model, thanks to some recently leaked information from various sources.

T-Mobile Austria, Rogers in Canada and Vodafone Australia have all, in some fashion or another mentioned the existence of a 32GB iPhone. The most interesting note comes from Vodafone, which has marked the 16GB models as “end of life,” suggesting it is about to be replaced by a newer 16GB iPhone or another model with double the capacity.

Now, we all know that increasing aspects like storage and performance are just par for the course as hardware matures, so why is Apple being so silent on what they have in store? Then again, it’s not uncommon to see Apple relying on rumors for generating hype about upcoming products.

Kingston introduces 12GB triple-channel DDR3 RAM kit

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:50:00 -0700

Kingston announced a new product in their HyperX series today, a 12GB triple-channel DDR3 1600MHz RAM kit. Consisting of three 4GB modules, the company is proudly the first to release a kit of its specifications. Naturally, the kit is mostly targeting the hardcore users seeking to max out their x58-based machines.

Senior technology manager at the company, Mark Tekunoff, was boastful of Kingston having been the first to release 2GHz kits, and expressed his enthusiasm about the recently introduced memory. He went on to say that this particular set of RAM was tested on the Asus P6T Deluxe motherboard and was capable of reaching 1,600MHz at 1.65V with respectable 9-9-9-27 timings. The latest HyperX offering has the largest capacity in the series.

For most, having 12 or 24GB of DDR3 1600MHz RAM is a sheer novelty – and one that won’t come cheap with this memory. Kingston’s 12GB HyperX kit will launch in the US with an MSRP of $1,400; or about the cost of our “Mid-range Enthusiast's PC.” Although some will buy it regardless, I hope at least a fraction of the purchasers will truly put the RAM to use.

Microsoft readies Touch Pack for Windows 7

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:49:00 -0700

When Microsoft first started talking about Windows 7 at the D: All Things Digital conference last year, a lot of focus was put on the touch and gesture integration of the operating system. Since then, millions of curious Windows users have downloaded the beta or release candidate; but while an apparent majority has praised the software for a variety of reasons, few people have actually had a chance to play with its multi-touch features.

This can be attributed to a number of reasons, from the lack of proper drivers and touch-friendly applications, to the mere fact that not everyone has a multi-touch compatible desktop or tablet lying around at home. Regardless of this, Microsoft wants to bring the feature back into the limelight, and thus has just announced a new set of applications that show what’s possible with this novel way of interacting with your PC.

Dubbed the Microsoft Touch Pack for Windows 7, the set comprises of six multi-touch optimized applications and games, including a map application called Microsoft Surface Globe, a simple collage making tool to move and scale photos however you please, and an air hockey game called Rebound. The Touch Pack will be available to PC makers, who’ll have the option of installing these applications on touch-ready systems, when Windows 7 is widely available. You can read more about it at the official Windows Team blog.

Dell dropping Nvidia video cards altogether?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:49:00 -0700

The relationship between computer giant Dell and Nvidia has been distressed, to say the least, in recent times. On top of numerous issues with hardware failures, Dell has had to extend warranties just to keep customers happy, with the majority of the problems tracing back to mistakes made by the graphics firm. It came to a head when Nvidia eventually agreed to shell out $10 million to Dell earlier this year, though this was not widely known about until recently.

All those troubles have apparently worn Dell out. Without official confirmation it's still largely a rumor, but it appears that Nvidia's time with Dell might be over – at least temporarily. On their desktop lineups, Dell seems to be phasing out Nvidia hardware, with only certain XPS and AIO models showing their cards as options. Newer models appearing on their site have a wider selection of AMD-based cards as well, indicating that as existing models are replaced, their successors may lack Nvidia options altogether.

This is a bad sign for the company, who has up until recently been enjoying a comfortable lead over AMD/ATI. Much of Nvidia's growth has come from mobile GPUs, which is where most of their problems have been stemming from – and some believe it's possible that Apple may be getting itchy feet regarding GeForce as well. Not all is lost, of course. Nvidia is no slouch, and will certainly work hard to recover from last year's misfortunes. We may first see AMD take a larger piece of the market, though, as Nvidia works out a new game plan.

New Intel Core i7 chips show up on retail sites

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:48:00 -0700

Following Intel’s announcement earlier this month that it will begin phasing out its first Core i7 chips, a couple of online retailers have jumped the gun and confirmed what their successors will be. As expected these include the new flagship Core i7 Extreme 975, with a 3.33GHz clock speed and a price tag over the $1,000 mark, and a slightly more affordable Core i7 950 running at 3.06GHz for $649. Both are quad-core parts compatible with LGA1366 sockets and should replace the 965 and 940 respectively.

Otherwise the new processors maintain similar specs to their predecessors, including an 8MB L3 cache and either a 6.40GT/s or 4.80GT/s quick path interconnect bus depending on the model. However, they are also expected to use a new stepping revision that will reportedly offer lower power consumption and hence improved overclockability. According to one of the retailers, PCs For Everyone, both chips will be released on May 31, just hours away from the Computex 2009 kickoff.

Verizon to sell Palm Pre in six months

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:47:00 -0700

Speaking at the “D: All Things Digital” conference yesterday, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said he expects its company to start selling the Palm Pre once Sprint’s exclusive deal with the smartphone is up. While we've heard in the past that the device will be available at other carriers sometime next year, it wasn’t clear exactly for how long the current agreement with Sprint would be in place.

Verizon is shedding some additional light on the matter today, however, revealing plans to start selling Palm’s Pre in about six months. This is obviously good news for Palm, which will get to sell its device through the country’s largest mobile operator, while Verizon gets more than enough time to see if the smartphone actually lives up to all the hype. The carrier also plans to have the new BlackBerry Storm available in that timeframe.

For now the only version we’ll be seeing of the device is the Palm Pre for Sprint, which goes on sale June 6 through the carrier and a number of retailers across the country.

Microsoft celebrates 30 million Xbox 360s sold

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:47:00 -0700

Microsoft is applauding their own effort with the Xbox 360 this week, announcing that the popular console has managed to exceed a total of 30 million consoles sold. Originally launched in 2005, the 360 is struggling to keep up with the Wii, but has remained in a strong number two position for current-gen consoles quite some time. That position is strengthened by its online presence, with Microsoft estimating more than 20 million active Xbox Live subscribers. Content refreshes also have helped keep sales strong, with software improvements and more online services available through the console both serving as selling points.

Thirty million over nearly four years is decent, but there is something else worth paying attention to here. Online content has clearly become a huge part of console gaming, so much so that the online experience is a huge part of owning a console these days. The fact that constant software updates, and even some minor hardware refreshes, are now a reality of modern console development should also play a part in sales. After all, there's a huge difference in buying a four year old console and buying a “current-gen” gaming rig.

Many gamers don't have computers which last four years, so seeing strong staying power in consoles is encouraging. For those of you who own consoles: Did the ability for the console to remain “current” play a part in your decision to buy it?