Apple cuts iPhone price

Apple unveils a faster iPhone and slashes prices on the original 3G to $99.

Carmen Roberts reports.

Big laser, bigger implications

Scientists hope the home of the world's largest laser will change the way the world produces energy.

EA "changing the game" with FIFA 10

Jun 8 - The games manufacturer Electronic Arts says consumer feedback from online gamers has helped it deliver a new level of authenticity with its new soccer game.

Matt Cowan reports.

Microsoft's campus of dreams

Jun 3 - A 'whereabouts' clock, 'sensecam' and Second Light are just a few of the futuristic visions revealed at Microsoft's flagship European research laboratory in Cambridge.

Matt Cowan reports.

Plane's sensors under scrutiny

Jun 12 - An aviation expert takes a closer look at speed sensors, known as pitot tubes, which have become central in the investigation of the Air France 330 crash that killed 228 people.

Wind power makes strides in China

Jun 12 - China's wind power generation has doubled in the last year as the country looks for greener ways to wean itself off cheap, but dirty, coal.

Kitty Bu reports.

Sony's new handheld game device

Sony has unveiled its new portable gaming device, the PSP Go.

Video and photos of the PSP Go were leaked online before the official announcement, revealing a lighter, slimmer console.

Speaking after the launch at the E3 gaming conference in Los Angeles, Sony Computer Entertainment chief, Kazuo Hirai, told the BBC's Daniel Emery that the media giant had received "a good buzz" from the event and did not think the leaks had done any harm.

Real-life relationships with Xbox

Lionhead Studios' Peter Molyneux has shown off a game character that recognises and responds to a player's mood.

The human interaction system is possible with Natal, a system being developed for the Xbox 360.

It monitors and reacts precisely to the player's movements and the way they talk.

Microsoft demonstrated Natal at the start of the E3 gaming conference in Los Angeles.

Virtual pet at tech show

A computer generated animal and a skateboard game with players riding real boards are among the big hits at the E3 gaming show in LA.

The exhibition's organisers say 40,000 people are attending the event.

Ellie Gibson has toured the stands.

Common GPS could help better track airline flights

Get lost in the woods and a cell phone in your pocket can help camping buddies find you. Drive into a ditch and GPS in your car lets emergency crews pinpoint the crash site. But when a transcontinental flight is above the middle of the ocean, no one on the ground can see exactly where it is — in the air, or worse, in the water.

The disappearance of Air France Flight 477 and its 228 passengers over the Atlantic Ocean this week has critics of radar-based air traffic control calling on the U.S. and other countries to hasten the move to GPS-based networks that promise to precisely track all planes. Current radars are obsolete more than 200 miles from land.

"The technology's there — we've had this stuff for 15 years and little's happened," said Michael Boyd, a Colorado-based airline analyst. "My BlackBerry can be used to track me, so why can't we do it with planes?"

U.S. officials have discussed setting up such a network since the 1990s and the technology is being tested in parts of the country, including Alaska and off the Gulf Coast. A few carriers, like Southwest, already use GPS to help planes make quicker landings that burn less fuel.

But full implementation, estimated at a cost of $35 billion, has languished amid funding delays and disputes over technical complexities. Although Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has said the project will be among the Federal Aviation Administration's top priorities in the Obama administration, the existing radar system is likely to remain for at least another decade.

"It's a crude system they're using now," said Robert Poole, an aviation expert with the free market-oriented Reason Foundation. "For 100 dollars, you can run down and buy a GPS system, put it in your car and know exactly where you are. But planes don't have it."

Some European and Asian countries are moving more quickly toward establishing pricey satellite systems. But many other countries lag behind, including Brazil, where the ill-fated Air France took off Sunday.

Current air traffic systems do not allow controllers to see a transoceanic plane on radar until it is within about 200 miles of land. Instead, controllers often estimate a plane's location based on flight plans and departure times. Such imprecision leaves planes vulnerable in emergencies, such as water landings, Boyd said.

"If a plane ditches and there are survivors, you may not be able to get to it fast enough," he said. "And if an airplane was hijacked in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, we wouldn't know until it pops up somewhere else."

A reported electrical system failure aboard Flight 477 likely would have knocked out any GPS devices even if the flight had been equipped with that technology. But under a satellite system, rescuers would have known the aircraft's precise location when the failure occurred, presumably making the search area much smaller and helping authorities locate the wreckage faster. That timeliness that can also be crucial in determining a cause of a crash.

Radar quality varies from country to country. For example, many U.S. control centers at least enable planes to send more frequent updates about their location, even when beyond radar's reach.

But over oceans, including vast blind spots in the middle of the Atlantic on U.S.-European routes, pilots usually have to resort to calling controllers with estimated positions every hour or so. The call-ins can frustrate pilots, especially in and around South America, where radio and radar coverage can be patchy, said retired airline pilot Vaughn Cordle, who lives in the Washington area.

"There's nothing worse than going through the painful exercise of trying to talk to someone and letting them know where you are," Cordle said. "The South American region can be more dangerous because pilots are sometimes on their own."

A plane failing to check in after more than two or three hours can be an air traffic controller's worst fear, said New York-based controller Pat McDonough.

"It's very disturbing to the controller to lose an aircraft — you feel responsible," he said. "I sympathize with those guys watching the Air France flight."

GPS proponents say satellite-based air traffic systems provide another benefit that could have directly affected Flight 477, which disappeared into a band of towering thunderstorms. Such systems would collect information from around the globe and allow for real-time weather maps to appear on cockpit displays, giving pilots a tool to better determine how to navigate oncoming weather.

"The point is if we have GPS to monitor airplanes, could it save lives?" Boyd said. "The answer is clearly yes."

Intel unveils chip for ultra-thin laptops

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -

Intel Corp on Monday launched a lighter, power-saving microprocessor intended for use in ultra-thin laptops, a move by the top chip maker to shore up its lead in mobile computing.

The new processor, dubbed the Pentium SU2700, comes amid investors' fears that cheaper processors such as the Atom, designed for use in ultra-cheap netbooks, are cannibalizing the market share for higher-margin, more expensive chips.

Acer and Asustek have said they will build laptops with the chip, and Microsoft will ensure its software supports it.

Intel expects that by the fourth quarter of 2009, about a fifth of its consumer shipments will be for the new-generation laptops, slimmer and more energy-efficient.

Intel is upbeat on the ultra-thin market and expects "explosive growth in 2009, very similar to the netbook growth," Intel's director of mobile platforms product marketing Uday Marty said on a conference call.

Asustek, which in 2007 pioneered the successful low-cost, no-frills netbook PC in 2007, is expected to unveil five new laptop models based on the technology this year.

Analysts say Intel's CULV platform may offer a cheaper -- but virtually as powerful -- alternative to the traditional processors it makes for laptops, while enabling laptops to begin to approach the diminutive size of netbooks.

Intel on Monday also released three new Core 2 Duo processors and a new mobile chipset.

Nokia says started deliveries of N97 phone

HELSINKI (Reuters) -

The world's top cellphone maker Nokia started on Tuesday deliveries of its new top-of-the-range smartphone model N97, a spokeswoman for the company said.

The firm said in a statement the model would go on sale in more than 75 countries this month.

Acer May Be First With Android Netbook

Acer plans to launch a version of its Aspire One netbook with Google's Android mobile operating system in the third quarter of this year, a top executive at the company said Tuesday.

The device carries the same Intel Atom microprocessor as on any Aspire One, and it sports a 10-inch screen. A similar Aspire One is currently available from Acer but it comes with Microsoft Windows XP.

The device could be the first Android netbook available worldwide if Acer can beat some rivals, such as China's Guangzhou Skytone Transmission Technologies, which has said its Android netbook is undergoing final testing.

Android is a smartphone operating system developed by Google that is meant to make communications and Web browsing easy, especially on Google sites such as YouTube and Google Maps. The majority of netbooks today use Microsoft's Windows XP.

"We are seeing that Android is becoming more common," said Jim Wong, president of global product operations at Acer. Acer decided to move more quickly to work with Android because there is a strong development movement behind the software, he added.

The Aspire One netbooks Acer displayed at its news conference on Tuesday at Computex were running a dual-boot system allowing users to switch between Android and Windows XP, but Wong said the device that goes on sale later this year will only have Android and another Linux OS.

He declined to comment on pricing, saying only that it will likely be slightly less expensive than an Aspire One with Windows XP.

But he also said the device will not offer any additional power savings compared to an Aspire One with Windows XP. Companies showing other new Android-based netbooks at Computex have said the battery life will be much better.

Current netbooks with Atom microprocessors and Windows XP have around six or seven hours of battery life, but netbooks with ARM microprocessors and Android at Computex are said to offer eight to 10 hours of battery life before needing a recharge.

The difference is the microprocessor. Acer is the first company to show an Android-based netbook with an Intel Atom microprocessor. Other companies have shown Android netbooks with chips from Qualcomm, Texas Instruments and Freescale Semiconductor that have ARM processing cores. These devices offer better power savings.

Acer worked with a Taiwanese Linux outfit called Insyde Software to port Android over to a netbook with an Atom microprocessor.

Running Android on the Aspire One took a lot of work, said an Acer representative, but they were able to modify the software because it's open source.

Netbooks centre stage at Taipei trade fair

TAIPEI Asia's biggest information technology trade show opened in Taiwan Tuesday, with the spotlight on low-priced notebook computers and advanced broadband Internet mobile technology.

The event was given extra significance this year by the participation of 36 Chinese exhibitors in the Computex Taipei, the first time since its launch 29 years ago.

Their participation has been made possible by the rapid improvement in ties between Taiwan and its former bitter rival China since President Ma Ying-jeou came to power on the island in May last year.

The five-day event will also enable Taiwanese notebook PC companies to grab the spotlight ahead of competitors as they showcase their new "netbook" models -- laptops designed primarily for web browsing and emailing.

With many netbooks weighing less than a kilogram (2.2 pounds) and costing as little as 250 US dollars, the crowded market is heating up as the cheaper products gain traction over higher priced computers in the economic downturn.

Worldwide demand for netbooks is expected to more than double this year to 32 million units from 13 million units last year.

Asustek Computer Inc, known for its popular "Eee PC" family launched in 2007, demonstrated its latest items shortly after the opening of the exhibition.

Equipped with a 10-inch (25 cm) display, Asustek's Eee PC Seashell 1008HA touts a 18 mm profile and weighs only 1.1 kilograms (2.42 pounds), making it easy to carry. Its battery lasts up to six hours.

Asustek's rival Acer Inc, the world's number two PC vendor behind Hewlett-Packard, meanwhile unveiled its first Aspire One netbook featuring the partly Google-developed Android operating system and faster Internet speeds.

Analysts say Taiwanese computer makers are expected to take a 60 percent share of the global netbook market in 2009.

Microsoft adds touch screen to zune

REDMOND, Wash. -

The next generation of Microsoft's Zune music player, due in the fall, will have a touch screen, Web browser and an HD Radio receiver.

The new device, called the Zune HD, will also carry a high-definition video output that will let people play files through a docking station on HD televisions, Microsoft said Wednesday. And the Zune's screen will use organic light-emitting diodes, a technology that helps improve battery life and image quality.

Microsoft has managed only single-digit market share for the Zune since its 2006 debut, but the company is continuing to invest in the device as an alternative to the dominant portable music player, Apple Inc.'s iPod. Microsoft says the new Zune will be the first with a receiver for HD Radio, which lets radio stations transmit extra channels alongside their regular broadcasts.

Microsoft also plans to link the Zune video service and the Xbox video game console.

(This version corrects that the Zune video service, not its music service, will be tied to Xbox.)

What the Bing is Microsoft Thinking?

If I was Microsoft, and I was coming out with a new search engine, I would make all efforts to disassociate it from the name Microsoft. Let’s face it, when it comes to new tools, we all want the little guy to win. Now that Google is itself a monolith, we’re all looking for the next underdog.

What we get instead is Bing.

Bing may be brilliant, and it will have to be in order to knock down Google. But not only does it need to be brilliant, it needs to have a name worthy of verbification (with apologies to my English teacher). Everyone knows that Google is the Kleenex of search engines. We even have sites like www.letmegooglethatforyou.com for those who feel the need to be condescending toward the search-handicapped. What was search called before Google? Nobody ever said “Let me AltaVista that for you.”It is clear that, in choosing the name “Bing,” Microsoft is hoping people will use it as a verb. They even went with a single syllable, possibly thinking that it would more easily roll off the tongue.

What if they’re right? What if “Bing” does become incorporated into our vocabulary? The new Microsoft search engine had better be good. It must be leaps and bounds ahead of the competition. If it is not, people might use its name in a way that Microsoft hadn’t intended.

The preview does look promising. Bing appears to organize data in useful ways. It tells you which direction plane ticket prices are going? (How do they know?). In giving results to health questions, it gives weight to reputable sources. When searching for products or businesses, it appears to sort data in useful ways across sites. Let’s hope it is better at finding us what we want and isn't just better at promoting its partners.

For Microsoft's sake, I hope they don't bing this one up.

Sony Ericsson Unveils PS3-compatible Cell Phone

It's not the PSP phone, but it's close. Sony Ericsson yesterday unveiled three new mobile phones including Aino, a cell phone that can sync with both your PlayStation 3 and PC. Aino also features an 8.1-megapixel camera with geotagging capability; 3G, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity; a physical keypad; and a three-inch touchscreen.

Pull From PS3

Using the Remote Play feature designed for the PSP, Aino can pull almost any content off your PS3, including music, videos, and photos. What about games, you ask? Sorry, HD video and games are not syncable, but like I said, this is not the fabled PSP phone that first hit the rumor mill in 2007; Aino is just a phone that happens to talk to your PS3.

The upside is you can use the Remote Play feature to pull files from your PS3 wherever you are in the world. Sony Ericsson didn't specify whether Remote Play will work over a 3G connection. Aino will also sync with the media files on your PC via Sony Ericsson's proprietary Media Go multimedia manager. Just drop your Aino into its charging stand and Media Go takes care of the rest via Wi-Fi. Aino users in Italy, France, Spain, Germany, and the U.K. will also be able to take advantage of the PS3's TV place-shifting and DVR feature PlayTV. Sony first unveiled PlayTV in 2007, but the feature has not yet come to North American PS3 models. PlayTV lets you use your PSP or Aino to remotely watch recorded and live television over the Internet via your PS3.

Out of the box, Aino comes with a charging stand, wireless stereo headphones, and an 8GB SD card -- Aino is not compatible with Sony Memory Sticks. Aino will come in black and white, and be available in select markets this fall. Sony Ericsson did not specify when or if Aino will be coming to North America, but I'd say its arrival here is a pretty safe bet.

Other New Phones

Alongside Aino, Sony Ericsson also announced two other phones: Satio and Yari. Satio is the ultimate camera phone, including a 12.1-megapixel camera, a 3.5-inch widescreen touch display; and running the Symbian OS. Satio previously debuted as Idou at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Sony Ericsson's Yari packs a respectable 5-megapixel camera, but is designed for the gamer with a built-in accelerometer for iPhone-style gesture and motion gaming. Satio and Yari will be available this fall; U.S. release dates were not announced.

In addition to announcing three new phones, Sony Ericsson said it will release details about its own application store during next week's JavaOne conference in San Francisco.

iPhone 3G price drops almost $100 in Indonesia

To celebrate Telkomsel's 14th anniversary this month, Indonesia's sole iPhone 3G provider is cutting Rp. 1 million (approximately $96 at this writing) off both the 8GB and 16GB models, bringing the prices down to Rp. 2,999,000 ($289) and Rp. 3,999,000 ($386) with a 12-month contract.

 

The timing of the promotion seem to coincide nicely with the rumored announcement of the third generation iPhone, but for those who are not aware of Apple's supposed plans, this latest price drop may leave an unpleasant taste.

Having launched the iPhone 3G barely two months ago, this is the second time Telkomsel has altered the price of the phone. Initially available at varying prices across three different plans, they evened the prices in early April to Rp. 3,999,000 for the 8GB and to Rp. 4,999,000 ($482) for the 16GB.

Unlike with providers in some other countries, such as the U.S., Singapore, or Australia, Telkomsel only imposes a 12-month contract instead of a 24-month period, mainly due to local market's unfamiliarity with this particular model of purchase, and possibly due to the proximity of a new iPhone release.

In fact, aside from iPhone 3G customers, no such contract exists between the providers and the customers. It is only recently that RIM has started working with the three local telcos who offer BlackBerry services to lock customers to some sort of contract. Only a small number of wireless broadband customers are locked under contract to their respective providers.

When Telkomsel announced iPhone 3G  pre-order in January, roughly 39,000 people registered interest within the first month, but less than 6,000 actually purchased the iPhone when it was finally made available in late March, due to the confusion surrounding conditions and eligibilities.

Those who were not existing Telkomsel customers or whose average bill was not at or above a certain amount could not buy an iPhone under contract and could not therefore take advantage of the more affordable pricing option. They were instead offered the ability to purchase iPhones at the pre-paid option, which meant bearing the full brunt of the cost upfront at Rp. 9.6 million ($926) for the 8GB iPhone and Rp. 11.2 million ($1081) for the 16GB model, including in both cases tax and 500MB of mobile data package per month for 12 months. With this anniversary promotion, the pre-paid option also received a million Rupiah price drop.

The big question among Indonesian minds now is whether Telkomsel will offer the next iPhone model as soon as it is made available by Apple or whether they will make their customers wait several weeks to allow for the older iPhone 3G to fully run out.

Samsung Recalls 160,000 Jitterbug Phones

Thousands of phones sold by Jitterbug, a mobile operator that specializes in simple handsets for limited uses such as emergency calls, are being recalled because they can't be used to call 911 in some rare cases.

Jitterbug sells bare-bones handsets and no-contract service plans geared toward seniors and other consumers who don't make heavy use of cell phones. One of its phones, the Jitterbug OneTouch, has dedicated buttons for the Jitterbug operator, one preset number, and 911 in place of a numeric keypad. Jitterbug has service and roaming agreements with many CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access) operators around the country.

That phone, as well as the standard Jitterbug phone with a keypad, have been recalled because they can't be used to call 911 emergency lines in some areas where they should be able to. Manufacturer Samsung Telecommunications America is recalling about 160,000 of the phones for a free software upgrade that can't be done over the air, according to Jitterbug Founder and Chairman Arlene Harris. There have been no reported accidents or injuries caused by the phones, according to a notice by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Users would only run into the problem in rare circumstances, according to Harris. In an area where there is a CDMA network but Jitterbug doesn't have a roaming agreement with the carrier, the phones can't be used for regular calls and users receive an "out of range, try again later" message on the handset's screen. While the phones should still be able to reach 911 through the local network, the recalled handsets cannot.

Customers could only encounter this problem in a few small areas of the country, Harris said. Samsung is conducting the recall voluntarily and is helping Jitterbug reach its customers by letter. Phones purchased from Jitterbug today don't have the flaw, Harris said.

Palm's new smart phone synchronizes with iTunes

NEW YORK - Palm Inc. said Thursday that its much-awaited new smart phone, the Pre, can connect to Apple's iTunes software and download music and photos just as if it were an iPod or iPhone.

The feature might be unique for a device not made by Apple Inc., though third-party software is available that lets some digital music players masquerade as iPods in iTunes.

Palm Inc.'s new phone goes on sale June 6, with Sprint Nextel Corp. as the exclusive launch carrier. It will be $200 with a two-year contract and a rebate, competing with Apple's iPhone in the market for high-end smart phones.

Jon Rubinstein, Palm's executive chairman and former Apple executive, said he didn't worry about objections from his former employer.

"We're trying to make customers happy," he said at The Wall Street Journal's D: All Things Digital conference in Carlsbad, Calif., where he offered a demonstration. "It's a great feature."

Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr declined to comment.

Also Thursday, the chief executive of Verizon Wireless, Lowell McAdam, said his company will carry the Pre within six months, although a Sprint Nextel spokesman said Sprint will be the exclusive carrier until at least the end of the year. Palm's Rubinstein declined to comment.