PopcornHour have revealed their latest media streamer, the C200, and compared to the previous-gen models it’s a significant step up. As well as a new 667MHz processor, the Sigma SMP8643, the PopcornHour C200 gets an HDMI 1.3 port, two SATA connectors, and a user-accessible drive bay for a HDD, DVD or Blu-ray drive.
Video demo after the cut
Updated with pricing/availability after the cut
Sprint and Verizon may be keeping relatively quiet about the BlackBerry Tour 9630’s functionality, but unsurprisingly RIM themselves are pretty keen to get the news out there about exactly what their new “world phone” can do. The smartphone is primarily intended to use CDMA EVDO Rev.A connectivity, but it also packs UMTS/HSPA 2100MHz support and quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE for use when abroad.
Elsewhere there’s a 480 x 340 resolution display, 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus and image stabilization, and 256MB of onboard storage with a microSD card to augment that. The Tour 9630 also has GPS with support for photo geotagging.
Video overview after the cut
LG’s detachable QWERTY touchscreen feature-phone, the LG Versa, has been officially announced for Verizon Wireless. Available March 1st 2009, the Verizon LG Versa has a 3-inch 480 x 240 touchscreen, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and EV-DO Rev.A; however its most striking feature is the included case, which has a built-in QWERTY keyboard and, on the outside, a 0.94-inch 56 x 120 monochrome OLED display used for Caller ID, phone status and displaying the time.
Walmart has backtracked on its decision to shut down the DRM servers authenticating music tracks purchased from its MP3 Downloads store. In a message sent to service users, Walmart cites “feedback from our customers” as the motivation for the turnaround, having announced last month that it would take the systems offline as it transitioned to DRM-free MP3s.
Week in Review time, and it seems like there’s plenty to look back on over the past seven days. Continuing our fresh tradition, in the fast-moving netbook segment we’ve seen confirmation of ASUS’ Eee PC plans – 23 models in all, the next of which being the 701SD, together with dual-core and bigger SSD versions – as well as Sylvania’s new G Netbook MESO, the target $299 tag of which got plenty of people hot under the collar. Price is a sore subject over at MSI, who saw their Wind netbook rise in cost uncontrollably, while E-Lead are likely celebrating their Noahpad – with its distinctive dual-touchpad keyboard – finally reaching customers.
There’s plenty to look forward to, as well, with Intel confirming a refresh of their Classmate PC, a video showing Fujitsu’s upcoming Amilo Mini playing with interchangeable casings, and Lenovo tipped for a new netbook to be released in September. If you can afford a bit more, and can’t wait until September, Lenovo’s ThinkPad X200 is a proper, grown-up ultraportable set to launch imminently; going by the first hands-on reports it looks to be a winner, with battery life getting particular credit.
Yahoo! Music have announced their compensation plans for downloaders whose DRM-encrypted tracks will be left stranded on current devices once the company’s licencing servers go offline. Coupons will be issued allowing users to re-download music in MP3 format from Yahoo!’s new partner, Rhapsody. Describing the amount of users affected by the issue as a “small number”, spokesperson Carrie Davis declined to go into detail about exact figures.
After surprising subscribers with the suggestion that they should bypass their own DRM, Yahoo! Music are now claiming that they will “compensate” those who have bought tracks from the service and for whom the DRM servers going offline would prevent future re-licencing. Company spokesperson Carrie Davis told Information Week that Yahoo! would be examining situations on a case-by-case basis, although she couldn’t disclose exactly what they would be offering:
“You’ll be compensated for whatever you paid for the music. We haven’t said exactly what we will do, but we will take care of our customers” Carrie Davis, spokesperson, Yahoo! Music
It’s become somewhat traditional to start the week’s review with what’s happening in the netbook world, a niche that’s arguably the fastest developing right now in consumer tech. Fujitsu kicked things off with the proclamation that budget ultraportables “don’t add up” and that the current race to the bottom line doesn’t give manufacturers enough room to make profit; Fujitsu were rumored the week before to be planning a netbook of their own, only with the emphasis on build quality rather than solely the price tag. Sony also picked up a few netbook-in-progress rumors, tipped for Q4 2008, and HP revealed that they’re working on a follow-up to the 2133 Mini-Note that will be less sturdy but also less expensive.
LG, too, are said to have a netbook in the works, with a model tentatively named X110 running Intel’s Atom CPU and made for them by MSI. It’s uncertain whether, if this turns out to be true, the X110 would be a rebadge of the MSI Wind or a whole new design. Finally, ASUS confirmed they wouldn’t be letting up the pressure as firm most associated with the segment; there’s talk of an “all day” battery and cloud storage option for release later on in 2008.
Yahoo! Music have announced that their online store will close as of September 30th 2008. In an email to subscribers, the company also confirmed that on that date their DRM-authentication server would go offline, meaning that anybody who had bought tracks from the store would be unable to transfer them to another computer:
“After the Store closes, Yahoo! will no longer be able to support the retrieval of license keys for music purchased from Yahoo! Music Unlimited, and Yahoo! will no longer be able to authorize song playback on additional computers.
After September 30, 2008, you will not be able to transfer songs to unauthorized computers or re-license these songs after changing operating systems. Please note that your purchased tracks will generally continue to play on your existing authorized computers unless there is a change to the computer’s operating system” Yahoo! Music email
Cellphone manufacturers would like you to think that their handsets are more than adequate replacements for your iPod – after all, they not only play music but you can make calls, too! Yet up until now the carriers have been pretty draconian with how you use their data network, potentially the music-phone’s primary distinguishing factor. Buying and downloading a song without needing to turn on your PC is the dream; expensive, poor-quality and over-DRM’ed has been the reality. Can Cingular change all that?
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