Sony Worldwide Studios VP Scott Rohde has denied recent rumors that the company is creating a 3D-enabled PSP handheld, one that will compete directly with the upcoming Nintendo 3DS.

Rohde was specifically asked during an interview whether Sony was developing a handheld with 3D capabilities, and the answer was pretty straightforward.

"No, no plans for that," says Rohde. "It's just not something we're announcing right now. It's just as simple as that. It's all I can tell you."

Speculation of a PSP2 has been around for a year, and some analysts believe Sony will introduce the device in September, during the Tokyo Game Show.

Earlier in the week, Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Kazuo Hirai called 3D technology too imprecise.

The Nintendo 3DS uses 3D technology that does not require any type of special glasses.

Permalink | Comments

---

Speaking to Cnet, Sprint has said the popular HTC EVO 4G will soon be getting the highly anticipated Android 2.2 firmware update.

Froyo features many new features that most users have been expecting and wanting. The main two are the addition of Flash (built-in) and the addition of Wi-Fi tethering. 2.2 is said to bring 450 percent performance increases, as well. Additionally, desktop to handset music streaming, Apps2SD and a "one-handed camera UI" are part of the update.

You can read about the full update here: Video Daily: Introducing Android 2.2 Froyo

Sprint says the carrier is finalizing the software and the update is coming in the "near future."

Unfortunately for Hero or Moment owners, the carrier says there is no 2.2 update expected for their devices.

Permalink | Comments

---

After being shown off first at CES and given an April release date, Plastic Logic has once again delayed their QUE proReader device, this time without a timetable given, further angering would-be owners who pre-ordered as early as March.

Additionally, the company has cancelled all pre-orders, a significant move that could mean there are a lot more problems under the surface than the company is letting on.

Differentiating the QUE from other e-reader is the fact it is aimed at the businessman demographic. The device will retail for $650 for the 4GB/Wi-Fi model and $800 for the 8GB/Wi-Fi/3G version. The Que features a large 10.7-inch screen, and has built-in support for Microsoft Office documents as well as PDFs.

Yes, you read that correctly, $800 for an e-reader that has only marginally better specs than rival devices that now sell for under $200.

Any consumer that pre-ordered the device sometime in the last few months received this letter this week:

"We've been working hard to bring the world's first product based on plastic electronics technology to market -- and have decided that delaying the device a bit longer will result in a better product for you. With that in mind, we need to let you know that since your unit will not ship on June 24 as planned, our automated ordering system has automatically cancelled your order.

We do hope, however, that you will stay on our list of customers interested in knowing about our progress and details of our upcoming product shipment. If you'd like to remain on our list, please click here.

We continue to be excited about the potential that our thin, light and shatter-proof ProReader will offer to business users everywhere, and hope we can count you among the first to experience this groundbreaking device."

Permalink | Comments

---

Last week, Twitter announced that users were publishing 3,085 tweets per second at the end of the final game of the Boston Celtics versus Los Angeles Lakers playoff match, a record for the micro-blogging site.

That record has been shattered this week, thanks to the World Cup, with users publishing 3283 tweets per second by the end of Japan's victory over Denmark on Thursday.

The numbers come directly from Twitter who says they expect the number to be broken again when the World Cup concludes in the next month.

Twitter says the average tweets per second (TPS) is around 750.

The World Cup continues to create "consistent surges," says the company, with the average TPS expected to rise in the upcoming weeks.

Permalink | Comments

---

According to a survey conducted by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, 77 percent of customers who were buying an iPhone 4 on launch day were past iPhone upgraders, moving from a 3G or 3GS model.

By comparison, in 2008, only 38 percent were upgraders and in 2009, 56 percent were upgraders.

Says Munster: "Apple is effectively building a recurring revenue stream, where iPhone users pay on average $200 USD a year to stay current with the latest phone."

Continuing, Munster says: "While its true that iPhone 4 is a more significant feature upgrade compared to the 3GS, and we expect this upgrade rate to decline next year, Apple has in three years built brand loyalty in the phone market that compels users to upgrade to the latest version and wait in line for one to six hours to pick up their iPhone."

The analyst says that 16 percent of iPhone 4 buyers switched to AT&T from other carriers just to get the new device, falling from 28 percent in 2009, implying that Apple needs to add the device to a second carrier in the U.S or face saturation on that front.

Munster concludes that Apple will sell over 1 million iPhone 4 units, including pre-orders in the phone's first 72 hours of availability.

Permalink | Comments

---

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has approved the motion forward for a .xxx top-level domain for porn sites today, passing the decision on to the ICANN Governmental Advisory Committee which has final say.

However, adds ICANN spokesman Brad White: "The board approved the movement forward on .xxx, but .xxx itself has not been approved."

The ICANN GAC, which is a group of 100 governments, will not take up the issue, banking on public popularity and the recommendations of the ICANN board.

ICANN Chairman Peter Dengate Thrush says he expects .xxx to be a reality "by 2011."

Notes Stuart Lawley, chairman of ICM Registry that has been trying to get the domain approved for years: "It's been a long time coming, but I'm excited about the fact that .xxx will soon become a reality. This is great news."

ICANN actually rejected the .xxx domain in 2007, but following an expert ruling by an independent review board, the rejection was overturned.

Permalink | Comments

---

According to Bloomberg, Sony is close to a deal with popular streaming site Hulu that will bring the service to the PlayStation 3.

Sources say the deal could be completed as soon as next week.

The new deal would be for a "premium" ad-free subscription version of Hulu, which would cost around $10 a month and give users access to full back catalogs of all shows available. Currently, the free Hulu only allows (for the most part) playback of the trailing five episodes of a current season, and no back seasons.

Hulu is said to be in talks with CBS, Viacom and Time Warner, as well, in an effort to bring a lot more content to the premium service, making the site a one-stop destination for content from all the major broadcasters.

PS3 owners will need to have a free PlayStation Network account to use the service, as well as the latest firmware. Hulu is also in talks to add the premium service to the Xbox 360, say sources.

Globally, there are 50 million PSN users, but Hulu only works in the U.S, currently.

Permalink | Comments

---

This week, Google VP of engineering Andy Rubin announced that Android smartphones are being activated at a rate of 2 per second, adding up to 160,000 per day.

Last month, that number was 100,000 per day, and in February, Rubin revealed that the number was just over 60,000 a day, showing incredible growth for the mobile operating system.

The strong growth can be attributed to the recent releases of the myTouch 3G Slide, HTC EVO 4G, and Droid Incredible, and continued strong sales of the Motorola Droid.

Looking to the near future, Samsung is releasing its Galaxy S line of Android devices, and Motorola is releasing the Droid X and Droid 2, each of which are expected to sell well.

Additionally, Rubin says the Android Market now has over 68,000 applications, with 100,000 likely coming within months.

Permalink | Comments

---