DirecTV and TiVo kiss and make up, again, with HD agreement
After subscribers were already receiving notices that they'd have to drop their TiVo equipment if they want to go HD, DirecTV is trumpeting the news that an HD TiVo will be a customer option after all...albeit in late 2009.
In the clearest signal to date that the new management at DirecTV is changing course, the satellite TV provider announced this morning it has renewed -- rather than let elapse -- its agreement with time-shifting hardware provider TiVo. Although it may still be a little late for some consumers, TiVo is now promising a new HD box for DirecTV subscribers for the second half of 2009.
San Francisco event will unveil new iPods
Yesterday Apple distributed conspicuously designed invitations to an event on September 9, widely expected to be the third annual iPod refresh event.
While the event hasn't received an official moniker yet, San Francisco has played host to Apple's iPod announcements for the last...three...Septembers. This year's announcement looks like an iPod screen that says "Playing Soon: Lets Rock."
Hurricane could delay North Carolina's DTV transition
The first US market to officially cease analog television broadcasting is Wilmington, North Carolina, but an approaching tropical storm could force all local stations to continue use of their analog frequencies for emergency alert.
Though the rest of the country has until February 2009 to cease analog broadcast operations, broadcasters in Wilmington, North Carolina decided they would test their "big switch" on September 8. There is no significance to that date, as WWAY ABC 3 General Manager Andy Combs told us this afternoon. Broadcasters just arbitrarily chose a date because they were all prepared.
Analysts: How is Chrome tied to Android?
Download Google Chrome 0.2.149.27 Beta from FileForum now.
Although Google's Chrome is designed for PC environments, the newly unveiled Web browser is closely allied with Google's strategy to take greater control of the mobile Web environment through Android, in the view of some industry analysts.
Chrome's objective: to speed up the Web for Google
Download Google Chrome 0.2.149.27 Beta from FileForum now.
As Google's lead developers for Chrome and its own co-founders made extremely clear in a press conference this afternoon, it's in the Web applications business, and it will do what's necessary to eliminate obstacles.
Google's business video service targets SharePoint users
It seems Google may not have taken a long weekend along with the rest of the world. Over the weekend, it rolled out Video Sharing for Business, adding yet another tool to its growing artillery of weapons against Microsoft Office.
Although Google's new service will mimic the company's free YouTube video offering in many ways, Google's new video service for businesses is a paid service available only through Google Apps, and -- as its name implies -- it is geared strictly to businesses. Also unlike YouTube, it includes access controls that can restrict viewing to designated individuals.
Intel buys mobile Linux startup
Intel has acquired Linux development startup Opened Hand as a part of the chipmaker's Moblin mobile Linux project.
Moblin is an open source software stack specifically designed for integration with Intel's Atom processors in Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), netbooks, and embedded systems. The project started last year, prior to Asus' release of its Celeron M-based Eee PC -- which is credited for ushering in the netbook craze.
Nokia's 'Comes with Music' to launch first in UK
Nokia's today announced that "Comes with Music" -- another step in its strategy to become "more like an Internet company" -- will launch in the UK first, and pre-orders for special edition 5310 are phones now being taken.
First unveiled last December, the latest potential competitor to Apple's iTunes and Microsoft's Zune Marketplace will offer downloads of tunes that Nokia claims will belong to the user "for keeps."
State media: China Mobile close to iPhone 3G deal
Microsoft slashes Xbox 360 price in Japan
Refusing to give up on the game console market in Asia/Pacific, Microsoft has cut the price of its Xbox 360 console in Japan, and is also adding a new model.
The Xbox 360 base model has been reduced from 27,800 yen ($257 USD) to 19,800 yen ($183 USD), while the high-end model with a 120 GB hard drive will now retail for 39,800 yen ($368 USD). A mid-range model with a 60 GB HDD will be introduced for 29,800 yen ($286 USD).
Google Chrome takes more than just inspiration from Mozilla
Download Google Chrome 0.2.149.27 Beta from FileForum now.
A few of the names appearing in Google's promotional "graphic novel" for the first beta of its own Web browser, may ring bells for anyone who was a beta tester of Firefox 3. So just what kind of browser war does Google plan to wage?
In another re-org, Alcatel-Lucent ushers in new execs
Several weeks after announcing the departure of CEO Patricia Russo and Chairman of the Board Serge Tchuruk, networking technology giant Alcatel-Lucent has named their successors.
Following a two year "transitional phase" of profitless quarters, French telecommunications company Alcatel-Lucent's CEO Patricia Russo announced that the company was actively seeking her replacement. Today, the company has named Ben Verwaayen as Alcatel-Lucent's new CEO.
Creators of rejected App Store comic book appeal for rating system
After its 'Murderdrome' comic book was rejected by Apple's iPhone App Store, Infurious Comics this week appealed to Web site visitors support its request to Apple for a rating system similar to one already used on iTunes.
The App Store turned down the comic book earlier this week, claiming that it violated a section of an SDK agreement which states: "Applications must not contain any obscene, pornographic, offensive or defamatory content or materials of any kind (text, graphics, images, photographs, etc.) or other content or materials that in Apple's reasonable judgment may be found objectionable by iPhone or iPod touch users."
Analyst: Over 100 new handsets, including 3G, on tap for Q4
The economy might be rocky, but one analyst says mobile device makers will still be releasing a total of over 100 new cell phone models in the second half of 2008 alone -- and about three-quarters of those will be 3G network-capable.
Vendors such as Nokia, HTC, RIM, Samsung, Motorola, LG, and Palm have been prepping the phones for the back-to-school and December holiday seasons, said Matt Thornton, an analyst at Avian Securities, in an interview with BetaNews this afternoon.
Google Maps to get better satellite imagery from GeoEye
Search giant Google signed a deal with Dulles, Va. startup GeoEye to use imagery from its newest satellite after it launches in September of this year.
This is not the first time Google has dealt with GeoEye. It already uses images from its IKONOS satellite, as well as from other sources including DigitalGlobe. As part of the new deal, GeoEye would exclusively provide its imagery to Google.
Most Commented Stories
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. About Us - Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy - Sitemap.