Todays & Tomorrows Technology

Game developer Activision have set their sights on bringing Sony down a peg or two, threatening to cease development for the PS3 and PSP consoles if the company does not reduce royalty fees. CEO Bobby Kotick has accused Sony of “losing a bit of momentum” and complained that the company does not “make it easy for me to support the [PlayStation 3] platform”. Kotick is now asking for a PS3 hardware price-cut.

According to the outspoken CEO, Activision – which is the biggest independent computer game developer in the world, with a market value of $16bn and operating profits of $179m in Q1 2009 – paid $500m to Sony in royalties and “other goods” in 2008. “It’s expensive to develop for the console, and the Wii and the Xbox are just selling better” he suggests, ”Games generate a better return on invested capital on the Xbox than on the PlayStation.”

Sony has maintained that they have no plans to discount the PS3; however, analysts have tipped a $100 reduction in mid-August, timed with the back-to-school shopping season. The company are yet to release a statement regarding Kotick’s comments.

Yamaha have announced a new version of their home audio streaming system, the MusicCAST2. Set to take on Sonos in the high-end audiophile market, MusicCAST2 currently consists of a touchscreen LCD controller, the MCX-RC100 Network Music Commander, and two types of Network Music Players, the MCX-A300, which has an integrated amplifier, or the MCX-P200, which is non-amplified for integration with an existing AV setup.
The whole system uses WiFi b/g to communicate and stream, and can access both music stored locally – on a NAS, PC or MAC, USB stick, Bluetooth device or shared network folder – or streaming from Rhapsody and other internet radio services. As well as the 3.5-inch touchscreen LCD, the Commander remote control has a trackpad and offers independent or joined control over up to 32 different zones.

In addition to controlling distributed audio, the MusicCAST2 system can be used as a universal remote control; the Commander has an IR port, and Yamaha offer IR blasters to fit to your existing AV rack. Supported file types include MP3, WMA, AAC, FLAC and WAV, though no DRM-encryption is supported (nor lossless files other than FLAC).

As for pricing, you’re looking at $500 for the Commander remote, then around %$400 for the zone players.

We may not be seeing the same huge queues as we did for the original iPhone and iPhone 3G, but things are still busy this morning at Apple’s 5th Avenue store in New York City. SlashGear headed down to meet with the crowd and soak up some of the iPhone 3G S excitement.

Unlike the sidewalk-spanning lines in 2007 and 2008, this time Apple only needed to cordon off their immediate area. We’re putting all this down to a glut of online orders with people expecting a visit from their friendly UPS person sometime today; allowing iTunes activations at home might not lead to camera-friendly swathes of people outside your store, but it does make life a whole lot smoother for those working inside it!

Later on this morning we’ll be sitting down with Apple’s VP for a chance to ask some questions about the new smartphone and what they think about rival devices from Palm, Microsoft and others. Of course, we’ll also have our own first-impressions of the iPhone 3G S itself, so keep reading SlashGear!

It’s Friday June 19th, and that can only mean one thing: Apple iPhone 3G S day. Sales of the new Apple smartphone have been taking place across the world for several hours now, and we’ve already seen the first handset teardown; doors of Apple and AT&T stores in the US open in around fifteen minutes, at 7am.

Unlike the iPhone 3G launch last July, reports suggest that there hasn’t been the same frantic queuing outside stores for this new device. That’s partly because Apple have loosened up their activation procedure this time around; while the iPhone 3G had to be activated in-store (and in fact still does: if you give your old handset to someone new, they’ll need to take it into an AT&T store to activate it to their account), the iPhone 3G S is offered with home-delivery and can be activated via iTunes.

However many would-be iPhone 3G S buyers are still caught up in lengthy contracts, and don’t qualify for subsidized pricing on the new smartphone. That, plus a feature-set that’s being seen as incremental rather than revolutionary, has led some analysts to predict that sales figures may not match those in the iPhone 3G rush last year. We’re headed to pick up our own iPhone 3G S from Apple’s New York flagship store, and several other members of the team are expecting visits from UPS today; keep reading SlashGear for live photos and video!

Samsung have been demonstrating their latest AMOLED concept, an e-passport that embeds a 2-inch QVGA resolution flexible display into an identity card. Intended to show a 360-degree view of the card-holder, rather than just a full-on headshot, the e-passport uses an AMOLED display so frugal it can be powered wireless via an RFID reader.

Usually the display is blank (hence the need for a normal picture, as not everywhere will have an RFID reader) but when held close to the scanner it powers up and automatically shows the video. Apparently the AMOLED itself, as well as being flexible, has a 10,000:1 contrast ratio and can display 260k colors.

Of course, as well as showing more detail regarding the legitimate card-holder, it also makes the whole thing more difficult to counterfeit. There’s still no word on when - or even if – this concept will go into production, but you can bet there are security-obsessed government departments all over the world looking on with great interest.

We first heard about Huawei’s E583X wireless modem back in February, and now the company has been showing it off at CommunicAsia in Singapore. A MiFi rival, the E583X – also known as the i-Mo – packs an HSPA modem and WiFi router into a palm-sized battery powered box.
Runtime is tipped at up to 5hrs, after which the E583X recharges from a USB port. You can also leave it plugged in and use it as a standard USB modem, though only with that one computer. As with the MiFi it supports up to five simultaneous WiFi connections and has a microSD card slot, though the Huawei apparently only supports microSD access via direct USB connection, not by any WiFi client as on the MiFi.

Still, it looks to be a little smaller than the MiFi, which may sway some users who are short on space. We’d say this one will come down to which carriers offer the Huawei and which plump for the Novatel rival; the E583X is set to land in Europe come July, though there’s no word on which networks have signed up.

We already knew the Viliv X70 would start from a terribly reasonable $599, but now we’ve heard from importers Dynamism that presales for the 7-inch UMPC will start at 1PM EST on July 6th. The first shipment of the Atom-based touchscreen handheld is expected on July 28th, and just to make sure every one of those gets a new home to go out to, there are a few tempting offers available to those who preorder.
The freebies are limited to the first 777 preorder customers. Those who go for the cheapest $599 Viliv X70 Express will automatically get an upgrade from the standard 1.2GHz Atom CPU to the 1.3GHz Atom Z520, together with a free car kit, leather pouch and screen-protector.

Meanwhile anyone going for the more expensive X70 Premium models – which have the 1.3GHz CPU as standard, with various SSD sizes from 32GB to 128GB and the choice of integrated 3G HSPA – will get a free standard battery, car kit, leather pouch and screen-protector. The Premium range starts from $729.

While the bigger SSDs and integrated 3G sound good, we’d still go for the base model X70 and pair it with a MiFi. After all, slot in a 16GB microSD card and you’ve got twice the solid-state storage, plus 3G connectivity for four other WiFi devices.

Samsung’s TL320 digital camera has finally begun shipping, after being made official back in February. A 12.2-megapixel point-and-shoot, the TL320 (aka the WB1000) distinguishes itself with a neat pair of retro dials that indicate charge and memory card status, together with using OLED for its 3-inch HVGA resolution preview screen.
The TL320 also has a 5x optical zoom, dual optical and digital image stabilization, face detection and smile-shot. It can also record 720p high-definition video, and has an HDMI output for connecting directly to an HDTV.

The Samsung TL320 is currently available via Amazon, priced from $334.21 courtesy of one third-party retailer. Amazon themselves have it at the MRSP of $379.99.

Sony have announced a new VAIO laptop, the NW-series, packing a 15.5-inch WXGA XBRITE display, 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 processor and an optional Blu-ray drive. The Sony VAIO NW is also being priced competitively: the standard model is $800, while adding Blu-ray to that is just $80 more.
Other specifications include an optional ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 graphics card, standard webcam and chiclet keyboard. Connectivity includes three USB 2.0 ports, an ExpressCard slot, SD and Memory Stick card slots, and HDMI; there’s also a dedicated “display off” button to switch off the VAIO’s screen when using an external monitor, and an instant-on mode for speedy internet access without booting into Windows Vista.

WiFi a/b/g/n, a 400GB hard-drive and up to 4GB of DDR2 memory are on offer, while battery life ranges from a paltry 1.5hrs with the standard pack and up to 5.5hrs with the extra-chunky pack. The NW-series will be available in white, grey and brown, complete with a strangely textured lid finish, chiclet keyboard and translucent trackpad. It’ll go on sale this month.

NZXT announced a brand new laptop cooler back in May called the Cryo S but now you can get your hands on it. and this thing is perfect for those looking for a high performance cooling option that is reliable and really gets the job done.
The Cryo S is made from brushed aluminum and features two 120mm fans. These fans can support a notebook that’s up to 15-inches in size and is effective at providing optimum cooling.

A rubber finish keeps the notebook slightly elevated so heat can’t be trapped and it effectively removes heat from your whole notebook, including the whole case, so you’ll know your latest gaming adventure won’t be interrupted. Power comes by means of the AC adapter or USB. You can purchase the Cryo S now for $49.99.

Maingear have announced a new PC that can’t decide quite whether it’s for gamers or HTPC enthusiasts. The Maingear Axess HD Gamer has its sights on your living room, and uses a low-profile aluminum case; however inside there’s an Intel Core i7 processor, up to 12GB of DDR3 memory and dual NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT graphics cards in SLI configuration. The Axess HD Gamer is also the first system to come with the Phantom Lapboard.
Other specifications include a Blu-ray drive, 8-channel audio with pre-amp, S/PDIF digital audio output and Vista Home Premium with its media center UI. Storage is courtesy of two 3.5-inch SATA drives, offering up to 2TB of space, or alternatively twin SSDs.

Up front there’s an OLED display for status information – including song or artist for music, or alternatively movie title – plus a multi-format memory card reader. Connectivity includes DVI-D, VGA, HDMI and component out, plus dual gigabit ethernet, eight USB 2.0 ports, two 6-pin FireWire ports and eSATA.

Unsurprisingly, none of this comes cheap. The Maingear Axess HD Gamer range starts from $1,799, but expect to pay far more than that for the kind of maxed-out system the company are talking about here.

Video glasses still haven’t caught on quite as manufacturers might like them to have, but that hasn’t stopped them from scaling up the specifications and the marketing hyperbole to try and tempt us in. Latest to cross the SlashGear test bench are Q-London’s 3D 80-inch Video Eyewear, billed as providing the same viewing experience as having an 80-inch TV two meters away. Bold claims; read on to see whether the Q-London system delivered.


In the box, as you can see from our unboxing video below, Q-London provide the headset itself, a rubber light-shield and alternative nose-pad, an in-line control box and the Nokia-type rechargeable battery that powers it, and an IR remote control. There’s also a cluster of adapter cables, supporting standard composite input and the type of 3.5mm A/V you see on some cellphones and gaming devices. Finally, a USB charging cable and printed user guide round out the well-packaged set; if you want iPod/iPhone compatibility you’ll need your own adapter.

Compared to the Vuzix system we reviewed several months back, we prefer the rechargeable battery used by Q-London. The company themselves don’t quote specific usage times, but we found a full charge was good for a film or two, depending on brightness settings. The remote control is an interesting idea – allowing tweaking of 2D/3D viewing, PAL/NTSC/SECAM video formats, contrast/brightness and other settings – but given there’s no tactile difference between the buttons you’ll still have to peer outside the Eyewear’s viewfinder to make sure you’re hitting the right key.

In terms of comfort, the headset is relatively lightweight at 59g, though the bendy rubber arms grip the sides of your head more tightly than we liked. Being able to quickly unplug the standard headphones and use your own (plugging straight into the in-line control box) is a neat touch, and something we’d recommend you do as the supplied earphones are nothing special. The rubber light-shield fits easily into place and does a decent job of cutting out extra light, though it does make looking outside the Eyewear to see the remote a little trickier. Despite Q-London’s suggestion that the setup has a “trendy design”, you’ll still stand out when wearing it and it’s not necessarily a “good look”.

Aesthetics aside, our biggest complaint about the 3D 80-inch Eyewear is the absence of eye focus adjustment. The Vuzix set had two small wheels that could be used to individually adjust the focus of each eye-display; with the Q-London system you’re stuck using the standard settings. This is particularly frustrating if you wear glasses, since with the Vuzix you could fudge a passable setup to avoid wearing your spectacles. No such luck with Q-London, and the combined weight and bulk of spectacles, light-shield and Eyewear make it an uncomfortable prospect for anything but the shortest viewing session, or headache-inspiring if you attempt a film without your specs.

Verizon are wising up to the fact that data subscribers want to keep using their WWAN modems even when outside the reach out EVDO Rev.A networks, hence this: the USB1000 Global Modem. As well as CDMA service while in the US, the Verizon USB1000 supports triband HSPA for when you’re abroad; there are also global data plans for regular travelers.
The USB1000 Global Modem itself is priced at $149.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and assuming you’re willing to sign a two-year agreement. After that, you can choose from a range of pay-per-use or monthly plans, depending on your likely usage. GlobalAccess Monthly starts at $129.99 for 100MB in 31 destinations ($0.005/KB after that) plus 5GB in the US and Canada ($0.05/MB after that); alternatively there’s a $219.99 plan which gets 200MB in those foreign destinations.

If you’re traveling less often, the GlobalAccess Pay Per Use plan might be more cost-effective. Verizon require a 5GB monthly US data plan, at $59.99 per month, but after that you’ll pay $0.002/KB in Canada, $0.005/KB in Mexico and $0.02/KB in more than 175 other destinations.

The flexibility is good, but we can’t help but think that you’d be better off picking up a pay-per-use SIM card in whatever country you’re traveling to, and using a local network direct rather than roaming. That certainly seems like it would work out cheaper than Verizon’s service.

You might not have heard, but the Apple iPhone 3G S goes on sale tomorrow, and AT&T thought you might want to know exactly how things are being arranged come the morning. The iPhone 3G S will be available from all 211 AT&T stores across the US, just in case you decided not to do the sensible thing and pre-order for home delivery. Stores are set to open at 7am local time, exclusively for those customers who have pre-ordered for in-store pickup.
If you’ve left things to chance, or find that the urge to pick up an iPhone 3G S sneaks up on you unexpectedly, remaining handsets in-stock will be available first-come, first-serve from the start of normal business hours; that’s likely to be 9am, but it’s worth checking with your local store to be sure.

Only one iPhone 3G S will be available per new subscriber, priced at $199 for the 16GB model and $299 for the 32GB model. If you’re a current subscriber, it’s worth checking AT&T’s new subsidy scheme to see if you quality; otherwise you’re looking at $399 and $499 to upgrade for the 16GB and 32GB models respectively. Existing customers can buy one iPhone 3G S per eligible phone number, while online shoppers can buy one per household.

With all that in mind, who is planning on picking up an Apple iPhone 3G S tomorrow? Let us know in the comments.

Never one to under-egg the photography pudding, Nikon have organized two separate press conferences in the upcoming months, first on July 30th and then another on August 4th. That’s prompted speculation as to which two products might be imminent; the Nikon D300s, with its SD card slot, seems a likely candidate for one date, but there’s less certainty about the second DSLR.
Over at Photography Bay, they’re speculating about two main possibilities. Firstly, that Nikon will replace their D60 entry-level DSLR, perhaps by adding video recording capabilities so as to stay in line with entry-level rivals; second, that the Nikon D3s will be replaced.

CrunchGear are putting their money on a D60 replacement, based on the premise that the obvious update to the D3s – again, video recording – would be less important on a professional DSLR. Of course, there’s always the chance that Nikon will use one event to unveil their new point-and-shoot range.

Motorola have unveiled a new Bluetooth headset, the Endeavor HX1, which the company claims to be the “only Bluetooth headset to use true bone conduction technology”. That’s likely going to raise some eyebrows over at Aliph, whose Jawbone headset is known for using a vibration-sensing system; in the HX1’s case, a new Stealth Mode shuts off the standard microphone and solely uses a bone conduction sensor in the earpiece.
That, Motorola say, is good enough to minimize the impact of even the most violent wind and ambient noise, and in fact can allow you to be heard even while standing in a concert. If you’re leaving the microphone switched on, then Motorola’s CrystalTalk system is also onboard for some more traditional noise-reduction.

Battery life is apparently good for seven hours talktime, and the HX1 can connect to multiple devices simultaneously making it handy for both cellphone and VoIP use. There are even voice-prompts, BlueAnt-style, to guide you in setting up Stealth Mode and pairing. The Motorola Endeavor HX1 will land in Asia come July; no word on pricing, nor when it might arrive in the US or Europe.

The thought of Swedish uber-car manufacturer Koenigsegg ever actually putting their Quant concept car into production was a laughable joke back when they revealed it in March. The solar electric vehicle was billed as a “car of the future” designed to showcase NLV Solar’s nifty photovoltaic and accumulator tech; now, according to one Koenigsegg insider, the firm intends to put the Quant into limited production.

The concept behind the Quant is straightforward: as well as a standard recharging system, which is apparently capable of fully juicing the supercar in 20 minutes, the whole thing has a photovoltaic coating that constantly tops up the batteries. That means the Quant is good for a 500km range, helped by the slippery aerodynamic shape.

Of course, since this is Koenigsegg we’re talking about, speed isn’t in short supply either. Twin rear-wheel drive electric motors can push the Quant 0-60mph in 5.2 seconds and reach a top speed of 170mph. Not bad for a four-seater with gullwing doors, 3-zone climate control, at least six airbags and all the usual electronic safety gubbins.

Commentators are already linking the leak to Koenigsegg’s recent buyout bid for Saab, though there’s no telling whether the two are connected. Whatever the badge on the front, look out Tesla: Sweden is coming for you.

It hasn’t taken hackers long to enable unofficial tethering on iPhone handsets running OS 3.0, and its taken carriers even less time to put out the predictable dire warnings regarding anyone found using such hacks. UK carrier and official Apple iPhone partner O2 have issued a statement suggesting that anybody found using tethering without their official “Bolt On” package will be charged or disconnected.

“Internet rumours suggest that some customers have modified their iPhone to enable Internet Tethering without the purchase of the Internet Tethering Bolt On. Any use of this particular feature without the purchase of the Bolt on is specifically prohibited under our terms of service.

Under those terms we reserve the right to charge customers making modem use of their iPhone or disconnect them. If customers wish to use the Internet Tethering feature on their iPhone 3G or iPhone 3G S, we recommend taking the Bolt On which is available from Friday 19 June” O2 statement

The carrier has been less forthcoming about how they will check for unofficial tethering use, though it seems likely that anybody with high traffic rates will stand out and be investigated. Like other carriers, O2’s so-called “unlimited” iPhone data package actually has a 3GB limit, and they closely monitor traffic for signs of P2P or VoIP use.

Arguably, O2’s stance is more understandable than, say, AT&T. At least the former offers a tethering package in the first place – albeit an expensive one, charging £14.68 ($24) for 3GB per month or £29.36 ($48) for 10GB – whereas AT&T won’t offer official tethering at all until later in the year.

As we know, iPhone OS 3.0 brings with it the potential for tethering on your Apple smartphone, using the handset’s 3G connection to get your laptop, netbook or other mobile device online while on the move. Apple have done all they can to make it straightforward – you can tether over USB or Bluetooth, with minimal setup - but the carriers seem less enthused. Some, like AT&T, don’t officially support it yet, while others, such as O2 in the UK, will allow you to tether but have an expensive extra data plan you need to add.

One thing we know about iPhone users, though, is that if you show them a sign saying “no entry” they’ll work out a hack to enable it, and sure enough there’s now a simple way to turn on iPhone tethering no matter your carrier or tether-plan status. All you need do, in fact, is visit help.BenM.at on your iPhone and install a new local carrier profile configuration file.

There are files for tethering on multiple carriers – not just the official Apple partner in each company, but rivals for those using their iPhone unlocked – and more apparently being added all the time. Plus, there are install files for MMS support, including AT&T who have previously said that they won’t be officially enabling it on the iPhone until late summer.

This is one of those cases where “because you can” might not mean “you should”; carriers have been very clear now and previously as to the fact that tethering data is not considered part of an “unlimited” on-device data package. If you do attempt it – and obviously there’s also risk in installing any software from an unknown site – then bear in mind your carrier will likely be monitoring data traffic to identify any unofficial tethering or MMS use.