These days, what separates Blu-ray players from one another has less to do with how they play Blu-rays–they all do that pretty well–and more to do with the sort of extra features they offer. Many players, for instance, can access a variety of online entertainment options, including Amazon …
Well, it’s quite the day for any GPS-related announcement, but Microsoft has nonetheless made a fairly big one of its own, with it dropping word via a simple service announcement that it’s killing off its MSN Direct live information service for navigation units (among other devices — even the odd coffeemaker). Those relying on the FM-based service won’t be left in the lurch just yet, however, as the shutdown won’t occur until January 1st, 2012. Anyone looking to move on with their lives before that can also cancel their service at any point prior to the shutdown date and receive a pro-rated refund for the unused portion of their service, and you can of course rest assured that all MSN Direct-equipped GPS devices will continue to function as basic nav units after the shutdown. Hit up the link below for the complete FAQ.
[Via Ars Technica, thanks Eric]
Filed under: GPS
Microsoft’s MSN Direct service to shut down in 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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MLB debuts its Android app for Game 1 of the World Series.
(Credit:
MLB)
Alex Rodriguez won’t be the only big baseball name making its World Series debut Wednesday night.
When the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies take the field for the first game of the World Series, Major League Baseball will also introduce its popular At Bat mobile application for Android phones.
Previously only available for Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch, the application can be downloaded from MLB.com’s mobile site but not the Android Marketplace, since the league is still testing the app in advance of next season. For that reason, the Android version will be free.
At Bat for Android delivers live scoreboards, box scores, and pitch-by-pitch or play-by-play updates, along with updated video highlight reels. The big difference between the free beta Android version the full paid version now for iPhone is that there’s no option for live streaming video. There will, however, be live streaming audio for the remainder of the baseball postseason.
MLB says for now it’s testing the waters, and it doesn’t mean there will definitely be an Android app for next season.
“We were intrigued by the adoption of Android and the recent announcements by carriers releasing devices in the coming weeks and months, and we wanted to take this opportunity during World Series” to test it out, said Adam Ritter, vice president of wireless at MLB Advanced Media. “The beta Android app will give us the feedback we need from a product and technical perspective to see what’s possible for next season.”
It’s been a big day for Android, Google’s free Linux-based mobile operating system, and MLB’s embrace of the OS shows its technology savvy. While iPhone and iPod Touch sales have exploded, Android is also gaining momentum, as seen with Wednesday’s high-profile launch of the Motorola Droid series. There are at least 10 Android phones available now or within the next week, and at least 10 more rumored models on the way for the holidays or next year.
MLB At Bat 2009 and MLB At Bat Lite (the free version) is currently on 1.2 million devices, according to MLB.
Going to be away from your TV and don’t have an iPhone or Android phone? Check out a handful of other ways to keep track of every pitch of the series here.
More screenshots of the app after the jump.
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Originally posted at Circuit Breaker
Korg’s Nanokey MIDI controller is pretty awesome in its own right, but using it with your feet gets a little difficult under “normal” conditions. We can’t say for certain why Marc Fischer decided to convert his perfectly good control board into a MIDI foot pedal, but frankly, that’s beside the point. The point is he did it, and he did it with just a bit of ingenuity, some wooden blocks for risers and a bit of Plexiglas to cover up the missing keys. Hit the read link if you’re interested in doing something similar, and feel free to ask the man himself where that gorgeous shag carpet came from. Kinky!
[Via MAKE]
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Korg Nanokey controller repurposed into MIDI foot pedal originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Hey everyone, it’s Droid day! We’ve got the new Motorola Android handset in house–which means that Sascha Segan is going to be putting in some late hours tonight, rushing to bring you the most in-depth review of the new phone you’ll be able to find anywhere. In the meantime, he’s sending us dispatches from deep within the PC Labs, just to let us know that he’s still alive.
For starters, check out this slideshow featuring the handset in all its glory, with some bonus shots alongside Android predecessors, the T-Mobile G1 and HTC Hero–oh, and there’s something called an “iPhone,” too. Not sure how that thing got in there. From the looks of it, the Droid is a big phone, but not unwieldy. It’s got a bigger footprint than the iPhone, but it looks a bit smaller and slimmer than the aforementioned Android phones.
Also, be sure to check out this video of the Droid–there’s plenty of pre-review hands-on action, and you get to hear the thing croak its name every time its receives a message. Let’s not forget that this is Terminator of phones, after all.
The phone will launch on November 6th, selling for $199.99 with that obligatory two-year Verizon contract and a $100 mail-in rebate. Check out more info here and stay tuned for the full review at PCMag.
People always talk about dog years, or cat years, but what about video game console years?
It’s hard to know what that math is, but one thing is certain: Sony’s PlayStation 2 turned 9 years old Wednesday, and it sure feels like the best-selling video game console of all time has been around a whole lot longer than that.
Yet even though we’re already more than three years into the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360/Wii console generation, the PS2 is still going strong. Routinely, month after month, its sales are in six figures–146,000 in September in the United States alone, according to The NPD Group–and there’s no reason to think the 485 (and counting) developers who have made games for the platform are going to stop any time soon.
The PS2 turned 9 on Wednesday. What’s that in video game years, if dog and cat years are equal to 7 human years?
(Credit:
Sony)
In large part, that’s because there are millions of people for whom the world-beating processing power of the PS3 and the Xbox 360, and the graphics-so-good-you-can-see-beads-of-sweat-on-sports-players’-bodies aren’t worth paying several hundred dollars for. For $100, they say, you can get one heck of a good video game playing experience with a PS2.
It “still holds a place in my heart–there’s so many great games with huge amounts of replay value,” said Michael Steavenson, a public relations professional who bought his PS2 around 2001. “I’m not so interested in blazingly fast processing speeds, graphics that make games look like a movie, or uber-cutting-edge hardware stats. If the game is well-designed, fun to play, and provides me with a good emotional connection, I’ll play it forever.”
According to Sony, one out of every three U.S. households owns a PS2, and, worldwide, almost 140 million people have one. To date, Americans have bought more than half a billion PS2 games, and all told, nearly 10,000 titles have been released for the platform. Not bad for a machine that has earned the right to be living out its golden years sitting on a porch somewhere, smoking a cigar and grumbling about kids these days.
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Originally posted at Geek Gestalt
This brouhaha isn’t officially on just yet, but MaxConsole has what it says is a letter from Datel’s UK distributors, which details the company’s response to Microsoft’s locking-out of unauthorized memory units in the upcoming (and currently previewed) Xbox 360 dashboard update. While it’s a bit short on specifics, Datel reportedly says that it is “aware of the changes that are required to remedy this problem and will shortly release a solution in readiness for this potential update.” In the meantime, it’s apparently telling retailers that they can send back the affected memory units if they like, and promises it will replace them with updated units in time for the dashboard update.
Filed under: Gaming
Datel reportedly looking to ‘remedy’ Microsoft’s lock-out of unauthorized memory units originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sure, the DROID’s getting all the attention today, but you might recall that it’s not the only thing Verizon has in the pipe has it preps its first Android assault — HTC’s got the Droid Eris in there somewhere, too, which is shaping up to be little more than a branded Hero in a slightly different shell. Against the insanely-spec’d DROID, that may not be a drool-worthy proposition, but fortunately, it’s looking like Verizon is going to be pursuing an aggressive tiered pricing strategy that might allow these phones to coexist in peace and everlasting harmony: unlike the DROID’s $199 sticker, gdgt has it on good authority that the Droid Eris will run a hundie less at $99. That spanks Sprint’s version which currently runs $179.99, but hey, if this means we’re going to see a price war down in the 528MHz trenches for the Android midrange, we’re all for it.
[Image via AndroidGuys]
Filed under: Cellphones
HTC Droid Eris priced at $99 for Verizon? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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CNET Labs finished their panel of battery drain tests for the fifth-generation Apple iPod Nano, and the results are better than expected. Testing for continuous playback of audio and video, the Nano reached an average of 33.6 hours of audio or 5.3 hours of video.
Given …
Originally posted at MP3 Insider
We’re not sure who’s winning the ratings war in Houston, but we’re going to give the upper-hand to KHOU based on these shots alone. As you can clearly see in the image above (and the enlarged versions there in the gallery), this newscaster is wielding a Wiimote. It’s hard to say if the news station actually has their slide transitions setup to change with a swing of the controller, or if weather map zooming is handled with something typically used for gaming, but one thing’s for darn sure — lightning rounds of Wii bowling during commercial breaks are definitely happening.
[Thanks, Edmar]
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals
Houston newscaster dictates slide transitions, goes bowling with Wiimote originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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