Following the high-profile recall problem for Sony due to a fire risk in laptop batteries, another Japanese company has been forced to recall its batteries as well, but this time it involves cellular phones. NTT DoCoMo said Thursday that it is recalling 1.3 million Sanyo Electric batteries in Mitsubishi D902i phones at an expected cost of up to $35 million.

According to the Japanese carrier, the batteries include deformed parts that could cause the battery to rupture if it is accidentally dented. The issue could occur during or immediately after changing. At least one battery has already confirmed to have ruptured, and there may be as many as 17 other cases of overheating or rupture due to the problem. Owners of the affected phones are being notified, NTT DoCoMo said.

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Sony has released version 1.3 of its firmware for the PlayStation 3 game console, which gives preference to 1080i high-definition output. The device initially outputted in only 720p and 1080p HD, which meant older televisions with support only for 1080i were stuck displaying standard definition 480p.

The fix additionally improves USB support and enables Blu-ray movies to be viewed in YUV, which is intended to boost quality when using the HDMI output. Support for a Bluetooth remote was also added. "Within 3 weeks of US launch, most of the software criticsms have been addressed," remarked BetaNews reader Mark Gillespie. "PS1/PS2 game compatibility was vastly improved in v1.1...Now the 1080i issue is resolved, I wonder if anyone will do the honourable thing, and report this?" However, some users report the update actually has a negative impact.

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With Microsoft executives becoming ever more eager to tout the company's sales numbers of its Xbox 360 in public, and the dramatic success of games like Gears of War, has Redmond given itself such a head start that it will be near-impossible for Sony to catch up?

Twice in the past week, Microsoft officials have mentioned the magic 10 million number. It has significance, as in each of the previous video game generations, the first to that level ended up being the best selling console overall.

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Federal prosecutors announced the convictions of three Oregon residents on Wednesday, saying they had colluded to buy and resell some $29 million worth of Microsoft software intended for educational institutions to non-academic customers.

Keith Griffen, 55, of Oregon City, and Mirza Ali, 59, and wife Sameena, 52, were convicted in an Oregon federal court last month on conspiracy and fraud charges. The software was purchased from 1997 through 2001 through front companies and the purchase of others.

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The New York Times reports this morning that a deal is imminent between Liberty Media chairman John Malone and News Corp. chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch, in which Malone will acquire one of Murdoch's prize assets -- satellite service provider DirecTV -- in exchange for Malone's 19% voting stake, plus 15% non-voting stake, in News Corp.

The move confirms rumors reported last September that Murdoch had fouled the nest of his satellite holdings, semantically speaking, in enticing Malone with the prospect of taking the foul-smelling property off his hands in exchange for refraining from mounting a shareholder-led takeover bid for all of News Corp.

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Following several high-profile Internet reports of damage being caused by its Wiimote controller, Nintendo on Wednesday gave some friendly advice on how -- and how not to -- use its unique capabilities.

The motion-sensing controller is swung and waved about to direct the console to make certain actions in the game. However, some gamers are apparently swinging a little too hard, or waving a bit too much.

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Palm handhelds with the Palm OS aren't going anywhere anytime soon. The company has signed a perpetual licensing agreement with the operating system's owner, Access Systems Americas.

The deal gives Palm access to the source code behind Palm OS Garnet, the version of the operating system used both in Treo smartphone models and Palm handheld computers. In exchange, Palm would make a $44 million payment to Access for the rights.

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Responding to last weekend's challenge from Qualcomm, which is seeking to up the ante in high-speed wireless networking with its acquisition of True MIMO producer Airgo Networks, Intel today announced that for its Centrino Duo platform, it's preparing a system-on-a-chip (SoC) that will incorporate the WiMAX technology it champions (802.16e) along with 802.11n WiFi and HSDPA.

It's called the Intel Connection WiMAX 2300 baseband chipset, and it's being described as the core connectivity provider for future notebook and laptop computers bearing the Centrino Duo logo. For anyone who asked the question after our story yesterday on Qualcomm, "Why is BetaNews making it look like WiMAX and WiFi are the same technologies addressing the same markets?" here's your answer.

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Oregon authorities, who had been searching for lost CNET editor James Kim, said Wednesday afternoon that they have discovered Kim's body in the wilderness in an area known as Big Windy Creek. The news came as a shock since just two days earlier Kim's wife Kati and his two children were found in good condition near their car. He was found at about 12 noon local time (3pm ET).

The Oregon State Police this afternoon released the following statement: "Josephine County Undersheriff Brian Anderson confirmed Wednesday afternoon that the body of James Kim was found by searchers deceased at approximately 12 noon. His body was found within the area of focus in the Big Windy Creek drainage."

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Despite sales that lag market-leading Apple by a significant margin, Microsoft continues to put up a brave front in its continuing fight for relevance in the digital music player market.

Microsoft says that it expects to sell about 1 million players by the end of June 2007. While this would likely trail Apple sales by as much as a 25 to 1 margin or more, the company says that would be a great start for its first entrant into the space.

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In the latest study to address the issue of cellular phones and cancer, a Danish survey of more than 420,000 cell phone users who first subscribed to service in the early 1980s through the mid-1990s suggests that there is no link.

Researchers at the Danish Institute of Cancer Epidemiology followed 420,095 cell phone users who subscribed to service between 1982 and 1995, and were tracked through 2002 to spot any incidences of cancer. Compared with the general population, there was no appreciable difference.

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An independent analysis of online discussions on next generation DVD formats Blu-ray and HD DVD seem to give the early edge to HD DVD. Cited as reasons are a consumer distrust of Sony and displeasure in the company's decision to include it in the PS3.

The study, released by research firm Cymfony late Tuesday, indicates that while discussion on the two formats is pretty evenly split, positive discussion on HD DVD is 46 percent higher than that of Blu-ray. The study researched 18,000 posts from October 1 to November 30, 2006.

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Microsoft launched its book search in beta form on Wednesday. However, unlike Google's project, publishers must opt-in to have their books included.

Windows Live Search Books would initially be accessed via a separate category on Live Search. But next year, Microsoft plans to integrate the service into its main search product once it exits beta. According to the company, the goal is to link all the various search products into a single interface.

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The tune seems to be changing ever so slowly at some record labels when it comes to DRM. Both out of consumer demand and to some extent necessity, some have begun to offer digital downloads in the unprotected MP3 format.

Record labels have so far resisted offering popular artists in the format, citing piracy concerns. But with the iPod and its closed DRM ecosystem becoming ever more prevalent, industry executives are looking for ways to continue the growth of digital music.

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The effectiveness of a patch issued last September for a Microsoft Word vulnerability, where .DOC files opened in Word 2003 and earlier versions via Internet Explorer or Outlook could enable remote code execution, is being called into question today.

The US-CERT team from the Dept. of Homeland Security has notified users this morning that another version of the so-called "malformed string vulnerability" is actively being exploited in the wild. Microsoft's response this morning, which does not include links to the latest patch for a similarly named vulnerability, is an indication that the solution at hand may not be enough.

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