Developages - Development and Technology Blog

All work and no play makes Brian a dull blogger. I’m actually not much of a gambler at all (seriously, mom, I promise) but the thing about being in Las Vegas for a week is, like it or not, you’re gonna walk through a lot of casinos. The casino in the lobby of the Venitian is loaded with all kinds of fun slot machines–Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Top Gun–you name it.

Being the diehard tech blogger that I am, however, one particular unit caught my eye: an eBay slot machine. Not sure how this ties in with the company’s new strategy, but whatever the case may be, it’s one stunner of a gambling device.

I couldn′t help but take a few minutes of video of the thing on my trust Creative Vado HD. Check ‘em out, after the jump.

Original post by Brian Heater

Sierra Wireless has just announced two new ExpressCard modems for HSUPA wireless users. Sporting download speeds up tp 7.2Mbps and upload speeds up to 5.76Mbps, the AirCard 501 supports 850 / 1900 / 2100 MHz bands, while the AirCard 502 covers 900 / 1900 / 2100 MHz. Both are backward compatible with UMTS, EDGE and GSM networks world ‘round, and they’re being touted as “durable,” meaning there are no little antennas or plastic pieces to break on you. That last part should be good news to all of you post-apocalyptic Road Warriors out there (or not — they’re still just regular ExpressCards, as far as we can tell). The AirCard 501 is slated for release later this month, while those of you interested in the AirCard 502 will have to wait until the first part of 2009.

[Via Slash Phone]

Filed under: Laptops, Wireless

Sierra Wireless intros ‘ruggedified′ AirCard 501 and 502 modems originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Dec 2008 13:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Joseph L. Flatley

Making its first foray into on-demand video, Blockbuster has started offering customers a small box made by 2Wire that, when attached to a TV set, can play the company’s videos once they’ve been downloaded the movie over a broadband line.

The move is an attempt to blunt the success of such competitors as cable companies, with their vast on-demand offerings, and Netflix.

If you do it, let us know!

More at The Washington Post/The Associated Press.

Tags: 2wire, blockbuster, netflix, on-demand video

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Original post by nafiz

Filed under: Cellphones

Big surprise here and all, but we hear RIM is actually thinking of crafting an App Store of its own in order to not get lapped by the likes of Apple and Google. Made official today was Research In Motion′s plans to introduce a pair of “major distribution initiatives″ for BlackBerry applications: the BlackBerry Application Storefront and the BlackBerry Application Center. The former is slated to launch in March 2009 (translation: forever from now), though developers can begin submitting their apps and content beginning in December. Similar to Apple’s initiative, RIM will give devs the ability to set prices and retain 80% of all revenue from sales, and it will be giving the rest of the dough to working with PayPal for transactions. Of course, enterprise admins can still maintain control over what apps can be downloaded onto company phones, but you know you can sweet talk the boss into relaxing some of those restrictions. The Application Center is a carrier-customized, on-device tool for providers to host specific programs for customers. Details on deployment (and more importantly, app screening) are all but nil, but considering we’ve got until March before we can even use the Storefront, we can wait. Angrily.

[Via phonescoop]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

Even with today’s wireless video game controllers, you can′t stay untethered forever. After a few hours of gaming on the PlayStation 3, you’ll have to plug in that SIXAXIS or DualShock 3 USB cable to charge. Starting December 18th, Sony Japan will offer an AC adapter intended for PS3 controllers at a price of &yen2,800 (just under $30). Like third party solutions we’ve seen, it has two USB ports so you’ll be able to do two controllers or toss in a Bluetooth headset. Nothing yet on availability outside of Japan, but if we get word we’ll be all over it, ‘cause we feel slightly guilty for leaving the PS3 on overnight to charge — what with the world’s dwindling energy supply and all.

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Original post by Samuel Axon

Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds, Peripherals

With only one analog nub, the PSP can’t seem to nail down a comfortable first or third-person shooter control scheme on its own, but a new tech called “PSP Plus” will allow users to pair the handheld with the PlayStation 3’s more genre-capable SIXAXIS or DualShock 3 controllers. Sony announced PSP Plus at the Tokyo Game Show today but didn’t provide much info about how it works, so we′re not sure if it’s the same technology that was patented last year. We do know there’s a pretty outrageous catch: you′ll need to connect your PSP to your PS3 to use the controller. With only one game supported (Resistance Retribution), we prefer just about any homemade hack to this solution, and if you’re at home with your Ṕ, why not play Resistance 2 instead? It’s what Kratos would do.

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Original post by Samuel Axon

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Never one to settle, Art Lebedev‘s design shop is trying its hand at handset design, and we like the looks of it. Art is teaming up with Scartel, a Russian carrier which just launched a WiMax network in Moscow and St. Petersburg, for a flagship handset of sorts, and has left no spec unturned — at least in the wishful-thinking conceptual stage. In addition to a WiMax radio, the device has WiFi, tri-band GSM, microSD, dual cameras, 3.5mm audio, an A/V plug and a gargantuan 850 x 480 screen. There are minimal buttons at the base: a five-way joystick and call / end, and no keypad, so we’re going to assume that we’re looking at a touchscreen device. Now all that’s left is to pick an OS — would Android be too much to ask? Another shot is after the fold.

[Via Pocket-lint]

Continue reading Art Lebedev’s Scartel WiMax handset concept: we’re moving to Russia

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Original post by Paul Miller

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Media PCs

What’s this? A little standardization in the TV realm? Announced today at IBC2008, Microsoft has launched its Protected Broadcast Driver Architecture (PBDA), a new worldwide platform that was made possible by the recent release of Windows Media Center TV Pack. In short, this system enables the “PC-TV hardware ecosystem to integrate virtually any free or premium TV service into Windows Media Center,” which keeps content guardians ultra-stoked while giving consumers more choice when it comes to TV tuning. Essentially, PBDA gives OEMs and tuner-makers the ability to develop and ship wares for WMC “regardless of geographic location or television standard.” The initiative is being backed by some serious players, too — Hauppauge, AVerMedia, NEC, and NXP just to name a few — and a couple have already shipped PBDA-based solutions overseas. Hit the read link for more… if you dare.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones

BREW Ninja, who readily (and oddly for a ninja) enough admits that he’s a mobile QA engineer over at Yahoo! Mobile, just scooped 3x phones in this quickie 4 and half minute video. The HTC Coke — a variant of the HTC Touch Pro — and tiny LG Lotus with full QWERTY for Sprint are both interesting, but it’s the hands-on video of RIM’s touchscreen Thunder that blows our doors. At about 2:50 in, he reveals the BlackBerry Thunder for Verizon (AKA, Storm 8350) saying, “I don’t like it, it’s, it’s an ok phone.” His biggest concern seems to be the touchscreen (something we’ve heard before) which acts like a button — you have to actual push the screen, hard, unlike most capacitive touchpanel devices. See for yourself after the break.

[Via Crackberry]

Continue reading BlackBerry Thunder caught on video, with a ninja

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

It looks like wind power in the United States is getting a boost from a somewhat unexpected source, with billionaire oilman T. Boone Pickens recently announcing that he’s spending $2 billion to build a 667 wind turbine-strong wind farm in Texas. That would translate to roughly 1,000 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power about 300,000 homes, but Pickens says that is only the start of what he has in mind. As he tells CNN, Pickens says he plans to expand the wind farm to a full 4,000 megawatts by 2015, which would likely make it the biggest wind farm in the world. What’s more, in addition to pumping out electricity, the wind turbines would give a boost to the pocketbooks of anyone willing to put ‘em on their property, with Pickens estimating that each turbine will generate about $20,000 a year in royalty income, although they apparently won′t get electricity straight from the turbine in their backyard.

Read - CNN, “Billionaire oilman backs wind power”
Read - Reuters, “T. Boone Pickens orders 667 GE wind turbines”

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Original post by Donald Melanson

Filed under: Laptops

It looks like ultraportable laptops are the new generic PMPs, and we couldn’t be happier about it — especially if we keep seeing units like the Yinlips Micro PC YDP-G77 here. While the spec list is pretty average — 7-inch screen, 400MHz CPU (we don’t know what kind), WiFi, Linux, 500MB or 1GB flash drive — what’s really getting us is the old-school TI-99 looks. All we need now is a speech synthesizer module and we’ll be all set.

[Via MP4 Nation]

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Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Displays, HDTV

Mitsubishi and the onset of Spring can only mean one thing: an onslaught of HDTVs. Just as it did last year, the aforementioned outfit is busting out a plethora of high-definition sets to whet your appetite. As for the new line of April-bound DLPs ($1,799 to $4,699), you can expect the entire lot — which ranges from 60- to 73-inches in size — to sport 1080p panels, thinner frames than those on prior models, increased brightness, Mitsu’s own 6-Color Processor and 3D-readiness.

Moving on, we’ve got the new family of Ultra Thin Frame 1080p LCD HDTVs ($2,499 to $4,499; shipping in May), which span between 40- and 52-inches and feature low-profile speakers, Smooth 120Hz Film Motion / GalleryPlayer technology, 10-bit panels, 6-Color Processor, x.v.Color and Deep Color. For these and the DLPs, those who opt for the Diamond series will be treated to Variable Smooth 120Hz Film Motion technology, a DeepField Imager and an oh-so-desirable blue light accent.

Lastly, the Laser TV which made its debut at CES 2008 is on track for a Q3 release, and just as predicted, it’ll be going by the name LaserVue and sporting a currently undisclosed price tag. Hit the read link for the full breakdown.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Handhelds, Wireless

Having trouble telling the difference between this and a garden-variety N810? Yeah, don’t worry about it — that’s okay, and it’s actually by design. We had an opportunity to tool around with Nokia’s just-announced N810 WiMAX Edition today, and it stays very true to the original N810’s formula, substituting a darker case and keyboard (both of which look very handsome, by the way), and physically, that’s about it. The real magic happens deep within this thing’s innards, where the addition of a WiMAX radio keeps things speedy when WiFi hotspots are out of reach and Bluetooth tethering to a 3G phone is too much of a hassle. The software necessary to support XOHM activation isn’t complete yet, but Nokia’s reps tell us that the process of signing up for WiMAX service will be seamless and entirely doable from the N810 itself — no pesky phone calls or visits to a store necessary. They likened it to purchasing hotel internet service there′ll probably be hourly, daily, or continuous subscriptions available, making it possible to only shell out XOHM coin when the situation demands it. It works just like any other data connection on the device, too, so getting your wide-area broadband on is pretty much as painless as it could possibly be. Check out some shots (including a side-by-side with the original N810) in the gallery!

 

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Original post by Chris Ziegler

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Tablet PCs, Wireless

Right on cue, Nokia’s WiMAX-enabled 𓏚 Internet Tablet has surfaced at CTIA 2008, and yep, this critter is destined to go on sale here in the US of A this summer. Beyond that, you’ll notice the familiar 4.13-inch touchscreen, slide-out QWERTY keyboard and even a built-in webcam for video calls, Mozilla-powered browser, integrated GPS / media player, 2GB of internal memory and a microSD expansion slot. Heck, Nokia even touts this thing’s ability to “access the Internet over WiFi or via conventional cellular data networks by pairing to a compatible mobile phone via Bluetooth technology.” Also announced today is the freshly updated O󋈈, which includes an enhanced e-mail client, support for Chinese character rendering in the browser and RSS feeds and “Seamless Software Update functionality” to boot. Needless to say, said OS will come standard on the currently unpriced Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition — which is scheduled to land wherever WiMAX connectivity is available — but existing N810 / N800 owners will also get the OS upgrade free of charge in Q2.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Handhelds

If you′ve been looking for some kind of incentive to dip into the savings account and splurge on a new gadget, this may be music to your ears. Nokia has just lowered the price on its jack-of-all-trades 𓏚 internet tablet, shaving $90 off the MSRP to bring it down to a highly affordable $389.99. Of course, you can probably find the WiFi-sportin’, QWERTY-havin’, GPS-rockin’ little guy slightly cheaper if you troll the internet (which we know you will). Before you lay down the cash, though, you might want to ask yourself this: does the price drop mean a new version is on the way, like, say… that WiMAX-equipped 𓏮 we’ve been hearing about? It’s a tough call, but we know you′ll make the decision.

[Thanks, Tony S.]

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Original post by Joshua Topolsky