Verizon Claims to Have 'iPhone Killer'
Verizon is adding four new devices to its lineup of phones to be released for the holiday season, headed by the new LG VX10000 Voyager.
Dominated by its 400x240 touch screen, the Voyager outwardly looks like that other phone on the market. "We think it'll be the best phone ... this year. It will kill the iPhone," Verizon Wireless Chief Marketing Officer Mike Lanman said in an interview with Reuters.
Has Bungie Really Left Microsoft?
Nobody's talking yet, but a new rash of reports are beginning to make it seem like the breakup of Bungie and Microsoft may be more than just a silly Internet rumor.
Such a relevation would come as a huge shock not only to Xbox 360 fans, but the industry at large as well. Together, the two companies have created one of the largest game franchises in history, and just came off the biggest entertainment launch ever with Halo 3.
AOL Updates AIM, Adds Streaming Music
AOL pushed a significant interim update to its instant messaging client on Wednesday, adding several new features and giving people the option to stream music to one another.
The new AIM Tunes is probably the most attractive new feature of AIM 6.5. DRM-free music added to a special playlist is streamable when users are online. AOL said the feature requires no separate media player download, and will "respect copyright issues of the music industry."
HTC Has Surprise Hit With Touch
HTC said this week that it had shipped some 800,000 Touch phones since it first went on sale on July 22, almost a month later than the iPhone.
Like the initial reports of the iPhone's one million phones "sold," it is unclear as of yet whether this was shipped to the retail channel or directly to the consumer. A request for clarification from HTC had not been returned as of press time.
Microsoft Plans New Xbox 360 Arcade Console
Product listings on Amazon.com and the Toys 'R' Us Web sites indicate that the Xbox 360 Core system is set to be replaced by a new console that focuses on its arcade game capabilities October 23. If earlier reports provided are correct, the console will come in a darker gray finish (being called a "standard finish") and include a 256MB memory card. An HDMI port will be added, and the device will include one wireless controller, although no headset.
Central to the new SKU is the inclusion of five arcade games, two of which are expected to be UNO and Pac-Man. No other details were immediately available, and Microsoft had yet to publicly confirm the new model's existence as of press time.
Apple Sued Over iPhone Price Cut
Apple is finding itself in the center of yet another skirmish over its $200 USD price cut for the iPhone, although this one has landed it in court.
Dongmei Li, a resident of Queens, NY filed the lawsuit Sept. 24 in federal court in New York. It accuses Apple, Steve Jobs, and AT&T of price discrimination, discrimination in offering rebates versus credits, underselling, and unfair and deceptive practices, among other charges.
Making Sense of Microsoft's Office Live Strategy
On Monday, Microsoft announced it's subdividing its online applications services even further, doling out new features such as storage space for individual Office users, while at the same time offering new e-mail and collaboration hosting features to small businesses. Today, it added some new personal attention services for the small business tier. Could this finally be the strategy that makes Microsoft's lagging online services segment start paying off?
In many of the classic Chuck Jones cartoons, the hero is being chased by one of his over-the-top villains. The action gets so fast that you only see a gust of wind and footprints the hero left behind. Then when he gets to some obstacle, like a boulder in the road or a sign pointing two directions, the footprints split into separate directions, leaving the pursuer comically perplexed.
Microsoft Debuts New Zunes for Holidays
As expected, Microsoft unveiled its second generation Zune players on Tuesday night, including three new sizes, new software, and an updated store. In addition, it gave details of a new community site to launch next month.
The details of the players match information that sources first told BetaNews Monday afternoon. Central to the new players is the Zune Pad, a touch sensitive button for navigation, and wireless sync. The new Zunes be released in mid-November.
More Zune 2 Details Surface Ahead of Launch
UPDATE: As expected, Microsoft has made the official announcement regarding the new Zunes
Although the news won't officially hit until midnight tonight, further details of the Zune players have leaked ahead of Microsoft's secret Tuesday night event for press and bloggers.
After Losing One Appeal, Can Vonage Catch a Break?
With potentially debilitating results hanging over it as a result of losses against both Verizon and Sprint Nextel in patent infringement suits, VoIP services provider Vonage faces the prospect of either or both judges imposing injunctions against the company continuing to provide service.
But a footnote toward the very end of last week's partial remand decision by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, first found by University of Missouri law professor Dennis Crouch, could be interpreted as a little nudge - a suggestion from one court to another that could yet give Vonage a way out of its terrible predicament.
WindowBlinds 6 Alters Vista Interface
Stardock has released version 6 of its popular WindowBlinds user interface skinning application, which is the first tool that can overhaul the look of Windows Vista - from the Taskbar to window borders and buttons.
Although Microsoft improved upon the "Luna" skin it created for Windows XP back in 2001, the Redmond company still does not enable users to change the interface graphics of its operating systems, Vista included. This is a positive for Stardock, which has been helping users "skin" Windows for nearly a decade.
Supreme Court Declines to Hear DRAM Price Fixing Case
The US Supreme Court this morning decided to leave it to California courts to decide the fate of what might have been a precedent-setting civil suit against a handful of the world's leading memory manufacturers.
They had already pled guilty in federal proceedings and settled with the government, though Rambus believes it was the memory firm they were conspiring against. Today, in a move that could benefit Rambus in the end, the high court signaled its belief that such a claim is for a lower court to decide.
Apple's Web User Market Share Increases
Apple's successes with the iPod are finally translating into real momentum for its computer business, if statistics from Net Applications are any indication.
The market research firm measured a 40 percent increase year over year in Mac usage on the Internet in September. As of the end of the month, 6.6 percent of Internet users were accessing the Web via Macs, up from 4.7 percent in September 2006.
Sony Updates Electronic Book Reader
Sony unveiled the newest edition of its digital book reader, roughly a year after it launched the first version. It will go on sale later this month.
At a price of $299, it is about $50 cheaper than its predecessor. It will also come in two colors -- silver and dark blue -- and have better controls to browse through books.
Sony, Qimonda to Jointly Produce DRAM for Specific Products
The Qimonda division of Infineon, which currently produces DRAM in fabrication facilities in the US, Germany and soon China, announced today it will be partnering 50/50 with Sony in the creation of a DRAM production facility specially tailored to specific consumer devices.
Qreatic Design, as it will be known, will not only expand Qimonda's bold use of the letter "Q" but will give Sony a new option for developing conventional, random-access memory for its own devices.
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