Tokyo taxis being equipped with Wi-Fi, PSPgo |
- Tokyo taxis being equipped with Wi-Fi, PSPgo
- Spotify not hitting the U.S. in 2010
- Android Google Maps 5 will add 3D, offline caching
- Sony releases PS3 firmware v3.55, adds nothing
- 'Inception,' 'Knight and Day' are first Blockbuster kiosk 'premium' rentals
| Tokyo taxis being equipped with Wi-Fi, PSPgo Posted: 07 Dec 2010 08:30 PM PST  The Japanese ISP NTT DoCoMo has said today that they will begin equipping taxis with free Wi-Fi. Additionally, some of the taxis will have Sony PSPgo handhelds left in the back. 820 cabs in Tokyo will get the Wi-Fi, while only 100 will get the handheld. The company says taxis with the extras can be identified by red DoCoMo Wi-Fi stickers on their doors. DoCoMo's service is in testing now and will launch fully in March.
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| Spotify not hitting the U.S. in 2010 Posted: 07 Dec 2010 07:07 PM PST  Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has said today that the service will likely not hit the U.S. this year, despite promises since 2009. While still hopeful, Elk says the company now cannot "commit to a specific date." When it does launch, however, it will cost $10 per month, much cheaper than the 10 euros it costs currently in EU nations. During the interview, Elk also denied having knowledge of Apple knowingly painting Spotify in an ugly light to the Big 4 record labels in an effort to keep their monopoly on the digital music business. "I don't actually try to focus on what Apple is doing, or what others are doing," he added. "I am, first and foremost, a user." Whether or not Apple has had any say in the decision, the American labels have made it clear they are not close to signing any Spotify deal for the U.S., even though similar deals are already in place in Europe.
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| Android Google Maps 5 will add 3D, offline caching Posted: 07 Dec 2010 05:18 PM PST  Andy Rubin, VP of Engineering at Google and head of the Android project has revealed an updated version of Google Maps this week, version 5. GM5 will be released "in a matter of days," and most Android users should be able to download it, free, at that point. Coming with the Maps update will be the end of tiling, which Unwired explains "essentially involves stitching several flat images or maps together and can wreak havoc on map loading times." GM5 will use vectors, which brings the ability to see maps in 3D. For anyone who has used Google Earth on their Android device knows, Maps will now let you tilt and rotate any map with your fingers. Equally as notably is the addition of offline caching, making those long trips to areas with data deadzones less scary. Besides keeping the map/route on file, the offline cache will also be able to reroute if you miss that exit and don't have continuous data. The update will be available for all Android devices with 2.2, and possibly for all with 2.1, as well.
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| Sony releases PS3 firmware v3.55, adds nothing Posted: 07 Dec 2010 04:50 PM PST  Sony has released the latest firmware update for the PlayStation 3, adding nothing. Says Eric Lempel, Sony VP of Network Operations: "This is a minor update that adds a security patch." What Sony will not come out and state is the fact that the update will do little but block potential jailbreakers of the console. In September, PSJailbreak released the first jailbreak, showing how PS3's security model was open to be exploited, and Sony was quick to shut down the project. However, open-source alternatives cropped up, giving users a chance to jailbreak their console for free. Sony has since continued to update the system's firmware, blocking jailbreakers. Last month, however, a "downgrading" option appeared, giving anyone a method to downgrade their PS3 to firmware 3.41, the last version to fully work with the jailbreak devices. Earlier this week, video emerged of unsigned code being run on a PS3 with v3.50 firmware, but that has yet to be fully confirmed. It won't make a difference now as the latest firmware is required to log into PSN.
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| 'Inception,' 'Knight and Day' are first Blockbuster kiosk 'premium' rentals Posted: 07 Dec 2010 09:56 AM PST  Beginning today, the blockbuster hit "Inception," as well as "Knight and Day" starring Tom Cruise will be available as "premium" rentals via Blockbuster Express DVD kiosks, 28 days earlier than htey will be available via Netflix or Redbox kiosks. That being said, "premium" comes at a price, $3 for the first night's rental, compared to $1 from Redbox. After the first night, the price drops to $1 per night. Redbox, Netflix and Blockbuster Express (run by NCR) all have rental agreements in place with the major Hollywood studios that block most new releases from being placed in kiosks (or available online) for the first 28 days of their release, in exchange for significantly reduced pricing. For now NCR is testing the "premium" rentals in just 900 of their kiosks around the U.S. From all the major studios, only Disney and Paramount offer day-and-date DVD rentals to Netflix and Redbox, with no window.
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