Mobile

FTC gives EA its blessing to go ahead with Take-Two takeover

Mabie A. — 2008-08-21T16:15:31-07:00

The wait is finally over for Electronic Arts -- at least as far as the Fedral Trade Commission is concerned. A couple of months ago, EA made an agreement with the FTC stating that they will hold out on buying Take-Two until one of these two things happen: a) FTC finishes its investigation on the takeover bid, or b) 45 days pass after EA complies with an information request from FTC.

Well it looks like it's scenario A that happened as the Federal Trade Commission has now given EA the green light on their proposal for the Take-Two acquisition. The conclusion of the non-public investigation, which was to determine whether EA's acquisition of T2 may violoate Section 7 of the Clayton Act or Section 5 of the FTC Act, was that the potential merger would not substantially lessen competition in the games market.

A letter sent by the FTC to both companies involved read, "Upon further review of this matter, it now appears that no additional action by the Commission is warranted at this time. Accordingly, the investigation has been closed."

Talks are still going on between the two companies, but it does look like it's about to come to a close. What's keeping the debate raging on is the issue on the appropriate per-share asking price. With this FTC development, it looks like Pachter sure is a step closer to proving his prediction true: EA will win out this round.

Related EA-Take-Two acquisition Articles:

Astro Ranch to lasso on iPhone, DS, N-Gage

Gino D. — 2008-08-21T09:41:51-07:00

Astro Ranch is set to be released some time next year for the iPhone, with accompanying versions for the Nintendo DS and Nokia N-Gage to follow. But what is it, really? Take equal parts Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon, and add a hefty dose of, say, The Day the Earth Stood Still.

Developed by Tag Games, Astro Ranch will have you playing a space explorer named Sindy Starlight who's starting up her intergalactic ranch. The concept is simple, but other mini-games and touches of fancy are thrown in. More so, there's going to be some interconnectivity going on that will allow you to interact with other friends playing the game, and even trade some in-game items with them.

Check out the screens below to see what it'll look like on the iPhone. If you want to hear more about Astro Ranch, you can read up on a full interview with one of the games designers through the Via link below.

Music industry on game devs fighting illegal file-sharers: you're on your own

Mabie A. — 2008-08-20T19:35:45-07:00

Earlier this morning, news came out that five British game companies are taking 25,000 pirates to court for illegally downloading their software from file-sharing services. The big five are Codemasters, Atari, Reality Pump, Topware and Techland.

The Times reports that they are seeking 3,000 (about US 5, 600) in payment, apart from demanding contact details from ISPs and preparing to take to court the first 500 of those who refuse to pay. That makes pirate # 501 very lucky, indeed.

Apparently, the legal action was incited by a landmark court-ruling that was held earlier this week, with a file-sharing gamer, Isabela Barwinska, being forced to pay 16,000 damages to Topware for downloading Dream Pinball from a file-sharing website.

Now, even before the day has finished, the music industry has given their own two cents on the issue - another victim of piracy - and surprise, surprise, they're not backing the gaming industry on this one.

Matt Phillips, director of communications of the BPI (formerly known as the British Phonographic Industry), says "that working with ISPs to educate consumers is a more effective way of combating illegal downloading" instead of punishing those who file-share.

This issue of file-sharing has been growing in significance especially with the boom of the Internet industry. Unfortunately, there is still no sufficient jurisprudence that will streamline the rules and policies defining when an act of file-sharing is held illegal. Piracy, though now a generic concept, remains vague and evasive, and so it is fairly easy for any one to fall in the pitfalls of this title.

But since both industries of music and gaming are the most hurt in all this, and also the movie industry, it would probably help a lot of they take on a united stance on the matter. Unfortunately, with this obvious distancing move of the BPI, it looks like even the industries themselves are not exactly certain yet as to how to deal with the issue of file-sharing. How can we expect to finally kill of the alternate-industry that's killing off the legit industries when they themselves are at a dissonance?

We'll be updating you more on this matter, but in the meantime, make sure you're not downloading any illegal files. You just might wake up one morning one of these days to find an invitation to court waiting for you in your mailbox.

Palm Inc unveils the Treo Pro

Isaac C. — 2008-08-20T13:35:49-07:00

Palm used to be at the top when it came to smartphones, but with the rise of the BlackBerry and the iPhone, it's mostly become second- or third-fiddle. Perhaps the release of its new Treo Pro will give it some momentum.

The Treo Pro runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro, with email, Wi-Fi and GPS capabilities. It has a touchscreen - of course, couldn't do without it - and a QWERTY keyboard. Here are the specs from Palm's press release:

One-touch Wi-Fi button Easy, fast Wi-Fi connection experience (802.11b/g).(1)
Today screen enhancements Web search directly from the Today screen.
Ringer switch Silences the device immediately.
Screen saver Lets users know at a glance without turning on the device, what time it is and whether they ve missed a call or have a new SMS/MMS message.
New voicemail indicator The center button flashes to let users know that a voicemail is waiting.(3)
Dedicated email and calendar buttons Fast one-button access.

The Treo Pro will be available in September in Europe through Vodafone and O2, with pricing dependent on the provider. In the US, it will cost US 549 and will be released this Fall.

Owning one of the Treo models myself, I just hope the battery life lasts longer than the previous models. I have to give it to them though, it's much sexier than the model I own. Wow.

The HTC Diamond's hidden multi-touch feature

Gino D. — 2008-08-20T08:43:33-07:00

The HTC Diamond is already making its rounds in the market, with some interested buyers jumping out of the iPhone bandwagon and heading for other choices. With the HTC Diamond in its infantile stages in the hands of the consumer, it's right about time that some hidden features are being discovered about the phone.

While it's not directly marketed and advertised on the box or in the manual, the HTC Diamond and Pro actually supports multi-touch capabilities. The feature isn't fully used right out of the box though, and you'll be requiring something called the Nav Debug Tool - a file called NavDbgTool.exe.

Using this program, the entire touchpad becomes multi-touch sensitive, meaning, it allows two-finger input at the same time. Check out the video below for a bit of demonstration:

It's strange why HTC hadn't blatantly advertised this capability right at the get-go, but probably it's because it's still in early development. This, of course, leads us to assume that future firmware updates and programs will probably exploit this hidden feature, thereby making it a worthier contender to the epic iPhone.

HTC Touch Diamond now at FCC

Forget-me-not: new Logitech Nano Laser Mouse docks to laptop lid

Isaac C. — 2008-08-19T13:56:17-07:00

I honestly just posted this because I want one of these little doohickeys for myself so I just want to share it with you guys. Maybe I'll get one later.

This is Logitech's new Nano Cordless Laser Mouse, the V550. Nothing incredibly awesome, save for the new dock feature. Essentially now you can stick your mouse to the surface of your laptop.

Now you don't have to keep wondering where you put the darned thing when you're not using it. And that's also one less thing to have to carry around. Battery life is estimated at 18 months. The mouse also shuts down when plugged into the holster, so don't worry for your battery life. The mouse runs in the 2.4 GHz frequency.

The V550 is priced at US 59.99. Grab yourself one by following the Amazon link below.

Harry Potter videogame being "evaluated" due to movie delay

Administrator — 2008-08-17T22:59:00-07:00

How much grief must a muggle bear? Just days after news hit that Warner Brothers was pushing the release of the sixth movie in the septology into 2009 comes this quote from an Electronic Arts spokesman regarding the fate of the videogame adaptation:

We are making a great game that Harry Potter fans will really enjoy we are evaluating the impact of the movie date change,

The game isn't officially delayed yet. It's not unheard of for a tie-in to be released some time after the movie itself hits, but before? Unlikely. It's probably a safe bet that Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (the game) will also be pushed back to launch alongside the movie.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing, more time in the oven is generally good for the development of a videogame. Hopefully Half Blood Prince will be the better for it, the Potter games have always played it safe design wise and as a result ended up kind of middling. Order of the Phoenix was a step in the right direction, with its immersive, fully rendered and explorable Hogwarts Castle, fingers crossed that the dev team sees this as an opportunity to get even more ambitious.

Yes, I totally made up the word "septology".

disapparates

Google Android phone: iPhone has nothing to worry about?

Isaac C. — 2008-08-15T10:10:45-07:00

It's been a long time coming, but Google may finally be unveiling their own Android mobile platform later this year. The hype surrounding this phone has even gone so far as to claim that it will be the iPhone's great rival. Aside from a full five-row keyboard, the Android phone - dubbed as the "Dream"" by Internet circles - will be featuring a touchscreen as well.

It seems the iPhone has nothing to worry about though. According to early comments on the phone, the Dream is described to be big and bulky, as compared to the iPhone. The Android software is also described to be less-elegant and less user-friendly than Apple's own software. At any rate, here's a vid of the phone in action, and you can judge for yourselves:

Captain Planet approves: Samsung's eco-friendly E200 Eco mobile phone

Charles D. — 2008-08-15T06:07:47-07:00

Samsung recently unveiled its latest eco-friendly mobile handset. Dubbed as the Samsung E200 Eco, the phone's case is made from bio-plastic, which contains natural plant-based materials and reduces carbon emissions during its manufacturing process.

Aside from protecting the environment, the production of the E200 Eco is a very cost effective thanks to the use of bio-plastic. Approximately one ton of bio-plastic is able to reduce 2.16 tons of carbon dioxide compared to Polycarbonate production produced from petroleum.

And if that's not enough, the E200 Eco comes packaged in a non-coated recycled paper box. Samsung President Geesung Choi explains that the company is committed in developing more environmentally-friendly and renewable materials with Cheil Industries.

The E200 Eco will be available on the European market by early September.

Tate Liverpool uses iPod Touch, iPhone for exhibition tour

Victor B. — 2008-08-13T14:12:36-07:00

Here's a nifty way to make use of podcast technology and Apple's latest gadgets. The Tate gallery in Liverpool has put up an experimental exhibition whereby users can pick up the entire tour of the exhibition on their iPhones or iPod Touches.

Until the end of August, visitors to the Gustav Klimt exhibition will be able to experience the tour by downloading the whole thing online and putting it on their iPhone or iPod Touch. They can also grab the tour via WiFi or rent a pre-loaded iPod Touch at the exhibition area itself.

Design Week Magazine (external link) reports that the exhibit has been very popular, increasing visit times from 45 minutes to three hours.

If you're interested in learning more about the exhibition, you'll want to check out the source link below, which explains the exhibit and has the guided tour available for download in chunks.

Dell reveals new Precision line of notebook PCs

Charles D. — 2008-08-13T05:08:50-07:00

It seems like Dell has a new ace up its sleeve in the form of its new Precision line of notebooks. True to its namesake, the new mobile workstations certainly carry a very sleek air in terms of both appearance and performance.

While sporting a very minimalist design, it comes packed with a powerful quad-core mobile chip that surpasses even the current notebook standard. In addition, the flagship 17-inch model comes equipped with two 500GB RAID hard drives, 100 Adobe RGB color gamut in an LED-backlit display, and an unmatched 16GB of DDR3 memory.

Dell has revealed three different models in the line-up: the 17-inch M6400, the 15.4-inch M4300, and the 14-inch M2300. The M4400 is currently priced at US 1,569, while the M2400 starts at US 1,449.

The new Precision notebook line is set to be released by Fall of this year. Hopefully, Dell will reveal more information about it before it rolls out. Come back again to this spot for more updates as soon as we get them.

Keeping with the times: libraries upgrade their digital media selections for mobile use

Victor B. — 2008-08-11T12:38:40-07:00

It's a sign of the digital age. America's libraries, in an attempt to keep with the times and draw back readers, have greatly expanded its selection of digital titles, from e-books, to movies, to music, that can be downloaded by library patrons for use on their gadgets.

Better still, all of the media they're putting up is free, so long as you've got a library card.

An example that Reuters recently gave was that of various libraries in Phoenix, that have banded together to produce a digital library of 50,000 titles. The initiative is supported by a campaign to inform people of the availability of said media for download via the library's website.

Here's how it works: Folks need a library card, access to the internet, and some specific software - the Adobe Digital Editions, the Mobipocket Reader or the OverDrive Media Console. Equipped with this, they can visit their library's website and choose from the library's available selection of downloadable media. The media disappears after 2-3 weeks, ensuring that you don't have to return the "book" you borrowed and that you keep coming back for more downloadable goodies.

All in all, it looks like a good answer to the whole business of getting people to read, as well as enticing folks to visit their local libraries. After all, the library just happens to be a veritable vault of knowledge that can be used by everyone, and best of all, it's not a secret that's it's cheap and user-friendly.

New Dissidia, Kingdom Hearts screenshots

Karl B. — 2008-08-11T00:00:42-07:00

NeoGAF member KurowaSan has put up a few screenshots from Square Enix's upcoming titles in the Kingdom Hearts series as well as Dissidia: Final Fantasy, the action title that sees well-known Final Fantasy characters duking it out with each other.

You may have caught a glimpse of some of the screenshots below in the Famitsu mag scans we post from time to time, but the quality here is much better. That's why we thought they warranted another look.

The PSP's Dissidia: Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days for DS, and the mobile game Kingdom Hearts: Coded are all slated for release later this year. Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep for the PSP is the odd one out with a 2009 release date.

Dissidia: Final Fantasy (PSP)

Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep (PSP)

Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days (DS)

Kingdom Hearts: Coded (Mobile)

PwnageTool 2.0.2 now out for iPhone users

Victor B. — 2008-08-09T11:31:51-07:00

Good news, iPhone lovers looking for the latest in pwnage technology! the iPhone-dev team has released PwnageTool 2.0.2 for people to use.

From the iPhone-dev team's website:

Installer 4 Beta is included, it is added in any mode by default. The main installer package management interface within PwnageTool isn t enabled yet, and will report that installer.app isn t available, but the actual Installer.app package is added as a default option in both modes.

The latest Cydia is also enabled by default

In any event, remember to check the source link for the downloadable files required to run the application, and be sure to check the full notes they're put up for all the information and warnings.

Download: PwnageTool v2.0.2

The iphone-dev team announces Installer.app 4.0, PwnageTool 2.0.2 to go live today

Dell updates list of notebooks with GPU issues

Glen D. — 2008-08-08T22:14:22-07:00

Dell has updated its list of its laptops which are suffering from NVIDIA graphics card-related issues. Consumers have been complaining about problems on specific models for weeks now, prompting the manufacturer to put together an action plan.

The table above was taken from the official Dell site. It features the names of notebook models which may encounter problems in the future. Click on it to view it in full.

Dell says weak material in some NVIDIA GPU models is the reason for most problems. The company is offering corrective services if you're among the afflicted users. Just give them a call and they'll do what they can to appease you.

Photofast PSP dual adapter CR-3100 and CR-5400 released; CR-9000 info, photos, benchmark tests

Isaac C. — 2008-08-08T11:54:23-07:00

Tipster Hitori Futari has come through for us once again with new pics, photos, and details on new PhotoFast hardware! No PhotoFast babes this time though, as Futari pointed out.

First of all, futari has informed us of several products that PhotoFast released recently (in Asia, at least - Futari doesn't know if and when they will be released in other regions): the long-awaited PSP dual adapter (CR-3100) and the other dual adapter, the CR-5400 which converts two microSDHC to one MS Pro Duo. Here's what Futari had to say about it:

32 GB mounted on the back of the PSP and switching memory sticks is an annoyance of the past. In my case it's enough for all my ROMs, ISOs, video and music files. That's more flash storage than most subnotebooks have. 64 GB is possible but it all depends on the PSP firmware which might set the limit lower.

He also provided us with new info on PhotoFast's new SSD Drives. Essentially, these drives allow you to build a low-cost SSD with just a few flash memory cards. Here's a quick overview from Futari:

CR-9000 SSD SATA RAID 0 - 2.5" harddrive enclosure for max. six SDHC memory cards
CR-7500 SSD SATA RAID 1, NRAID - 2.5" harddrive enclosure for max. two Compact Flash cards
CR-7300 SSD SATA/miniUSB RAID 0/1 - adapter card for one Compact Flash card,
max. capacity 2TB(!)
CR-1000 series - adapters for one Compact Flash card to SATA, IDE, ZIF or CF 50 Pin
Both drives are user configurable "adapter-drives" (basically an adapter card in a 2.5" alu harddrive case).
CR-9000 can take up to 6 SDHC memory cards (max. 6x32 GB = 192 GB) and CR-7500 holds 2 CF cards.
SATA interface, RAID capable, shock-proof and energy-saving cause there are no moving parts. Perfect for laptops and subnotebooks.

No retail prices have been announced yet, but Futari believes it'll be cheaper than available SSDs in the market. With the new CR-9000 PhotoFast gave him (nice), he also did a couple of benchmark tests. Here are the results of the drive being tested on a MacBook Pro (Tiger 10.4 basic install), followed by pics of the new CR-9000 and his benchmark photos:

Bootup time from cold boot:

75 secs in total until all icons on desktop available and system ready
(57 secs until desktop first appears)

OS X startup bar:

20 secs to complete

Shutdown time:

17 secs

Weight:

Macbook Pro 100GB Hitachi 2.5" HDD 7200rpm: 113g
CR-9000 (empty): 67g
1 SDHC card: 2g

Pics of the new PhotoFast CR-9000

Benchmark tests:

Again, a hearty thanks to Hitori Futari!

They couldn't wait: Chinese modders create PSP Phone Frankenstein

Isaac C. — 2008-08-08T09:45:37-07:00

Looks like somebody couldn't wait on Sony Ericsson to release their official PSP Phone. Chinese modders tore open their Sony handheld to make a PSP Phone worthy of Frankenstein. Click on the pictures above for some close-ups.

Not much is known about this mod as of now - not if it can make calls, or make texts or anything. But that's mostly because we can't read Chinese. At any rate, it does look like an awesome mod. For the curious, the phone they used - according to one poster on the Jewel Factory - is a Haier m2000.

We'll keep you updated as soon as we find out more.

Toshiba launches largest density NAND flash memory device

Charles D. — 2008-08-08T06:04:47-07:00

Toshiba recently revealed the launch of its 32GB embedded NAND flash memory modules, making it the largest density ever produced among the current standard. The devices will be applicable for mobile digital consumer products, including mobile phones and video cameras.

The 32GB embedded devices combines eight 4GB NAND chips and comes with a dedicated controller. Toshiba is also offering a line-up of single package embedded NAND flash memories and will be available in densities ranging from 1GB to 32GB. The line-up includes:

LBA-NAND memory, which has a NAND interface
eSD large capacity chips with SD interface
e-MMC with an HS-MMC interface

Samples of the new NAND flash memory devices will be available next month, with mass production to start during the fourth quarter of this year.

DKS3713: Kingdom Hearts titles and Dissidia: Final Fantasy release dates

Mabie A. — 2008-08-01T22:42:27-07:00

Yes, there's more news coming your way from Square Enix' ongoing "private party", DKS3713. We're sure you were jolted alive by the first couple of news that streamed in (FF Agito 13 and Parasite Eve 3 on PSP, FF Versus XIII exclusivity), much like it felt as if we were fed with intravenous shots of caffeine here at QJ when we picked up on it.

More business just keeps coming, so let's get down to it, shall we? Okay, Square Enix has more announcements to make, and this time, they are release dates for their much-awaited titles for the DS, PSP and Mobile.

Here's the rundown:

Dissidia: Final Fantasy (PSP) - December 2008
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (DS) - Winter 2008
Kingdom Hearts Coded (Mobile) - Winter 2008
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (PSP) - 2009

Well, we're halfway through 2008, so these titles can't be too far away now, right? As usual, we'll keep you up to date so keep it locked here for more.

FFXIII demo, Versus and Agito goodies to come with Advent Children Blu-ray release

Glen D. — 2008-08-01T21:12:04-07:00

Square Enix's big ol' private party has finally begun in earnest over at Japan, and we have the first wave of announcements from the shindig. Leading the charge is the news that the Blu-ray release of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children will come with some big time freebies.

The most interesting of all will have to be a playable demo of the much-awaited Final Fantasy XIII (PS3, Xbox 360). This is reminiscent of how the FFVIII demo was bundled in with Brave Fencer Musashi back in the PSOne days. Square Enix definitely knows how to sell stuff, doesn't it?

In addition, new trailers of FF Versus XIII will be included in the purchase. If that's not enough, Final Fantasy XIII Agito for mobile phones was also guaranteed.

FFVII: Advent Children will be out on Blu-ray this March. We're sure a lot of you are raring to see cloud and company in 1080p, but the freebies may have already stolen the show. No word as to how Xbox 360 owners are going to get their hands on the demo has been mentioned.