[CEATEC 2008] It has been reported that the video-on-demand (VOD) service for Wii will start in December (in Japan) and will feature about 500 shows (all genres). Videos will cost between 100 and 400 Wii points. Fujisoft would like to launch the service outside of Japan as well, but they are only at the “discussion” stage for the U.S and Europe. With a bit of luck, the license deals should be worked out soon, but we think that it would be unreasonable to expect something to launch outside of Japan before 2009. If you wonder, this VOD service supports popular formats like H.264, MPEG4, WMV and MPEG2. I suspect that most videos will be in H.264. [video shot by Giiks]

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Sega will be making a comeback in the hardware business, but video game fans all over shouldn’t jump for joy just yet - the Japanese company won’t be rolling out a home console in order to ignite its classic rivalry with Nintendo nor newcomers Sony and Microsoft, but will be releasing a portable media player (PMP) instead. This PMP will of course, include games as a bonus function in addition to keeping you entertained with audio and video files. No word on specifications as at press time, but it will be interesting to see what Sega can cobble together assuming they’ve studied the market thoroughly and know just what they have to do to break the iPod’s iron dominance.

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Filed under: Computers

You know those insect-like micro air vehicles (MAV) we’ve been seeing? Well, the ExoFly aerobot is based on that camera-equipped DelFly design, only this time it’s gearing up for a trip to Mars — maybe even Titan or Venus. Turns out flapping-wing flight is perfect for the low-density viscous Martian atmosphere. The current prototype — weighing 17g with a wingspan of 350mm and flight time of twelve minutes — is being tweaked for use in future missions to Mars.

The folks at Delft University of Technology and Wageningen University, who’ve teamed up with Ursa Minor Space & Navigation, plan on increasing the weight to 20g and adding an on-board solar cell, which they reckon should extend the flight distance to 15km. There’s also talk of using the digital terrain and image data gathered to simulate a 3D immersive environment for detailed analysis of extraterrestrial destinations — hopefully viewable by those of us who don’t have the billions to drop on a flight to Mars. [Via New Scientist Space]

Continue reading Robotic Fly Will Go to Mars for Research Missions

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Yeah, the wait for October 22 (or after) is absolutely excruciating; trust us, we know. We’ll take every scrap of information and imagery we can to hold us over until G1s start showing up on doorsteps in a few weeks, but T-Mobile’s really gone above and beyond the call of duty here by setting up a surprisingly functional and feature-complete emulator to satisfy our urges to touch icons and click buttons. Obviously, you’re not going to get a GPS lock, so don’t get your hopes up that you’re going to be playing around with Street View or anything wild like that — in fact, most apps lead you to a “this screen is not fully functional” message — but it’s got more goodies than the Android SDK’s emulator, and it’s just enough to get you acquainted with the phone’s personality by the time it’s actually in your paws.

[Via Cell Phone Signal]

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Microsoft is still working on bringing the Zune interface to Windows Mobile devices, according to company chief Steve Ballmer. Do you think this move could help turn Windows Mobile devices (especially touch screen versions) into a pseudo iPod touch? After all, current Windows-powered smartphones aren’t exactly user friendly when it comes to multimedia playback, and it does take some sort of technical know how to get things up and running. Perhaps this Zune interface update will accompany the Windows Mobile 7 release - who knows? My crystal ball is currently broken, so I can’t shed much light on the situation at the moment.

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Filed under: Cell Phones, iPhone

The campaign of Barack Obama continues to show that it’s the more tech-savvy of the U.S. presidential tickets. The Obama campaign has released a pair of new mobile tools for iPhone-carrying supporters. In addition to a specially iPhone designed version of its Web page, there is now an Obama iPhone application that has a number of features to help motivate and organize supporters and volunteers.

The iPhone application access your contacts and reorganizes them so that contacts in battleground states are listed at the top, instead of simply using alphabetical order. The application counts how many calls you make through the app and anonymously sends the tally (but no other data) back to the Obama campaign. The app shows how many calls you’ve made and how many calls the application has been used to make nationwide, motivating users by making them feel like they are part of a larger community.

The application also can access the iPhone’s GPS to locate the nearest Obama campaign office and local events. It also comes with “issues” and “media” links, which delivers statements and videos of Obama’s stance on issues.

The McCain campaign responded by asking, “What’s an iPhone?” [From: CNET and USA Today]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Now that Sony Ericsson’s mighty X1 has earned the FCC’s love and affection, you won’t be an outlaw for using one in the States — but unfortunately, you won’t be a speed demon everywhere, either. The version that just nabbed approval here is the X1i, and anyone familiar with Sony Ericsson’s naming scheme can tell you that an “i” means a phone’s not really meant for North American consumption; in this case, we’re lucky to squeak by with UMTS Band II support, which means we’ll theoretically be able to pick up some of AT&T’s 1900MHz signal. On 850, though, you’ll be stuck with EDGE. Of course, a true global launch has been in the cards for the X1 from day one, and we’re not worried that we won’t see a more 3G-rife model getting torn down by the feds — this just ain’t it.

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

So the good news is that T-Mobile has decided to keep right on taking pre-orders for the G1 through October 21, just one day before the handset’s official launch. The bad news, though, is that it doesn’t mean you’ll be getting your Android on come October 22. Turns out that the initial allotment of G1s set aside for pre-orders is now sold out completely, and any names taken between now and launch will be allotted phones being shipped “at a later date.” It’s not clear if a “later date” means a week, a month, or a decade after the 22nd, but for the sake of everyone involved, we hope its the former.

Update: T-Mobile’s site says that pre-orders taken from here on out will be delivered “as early as November 10,” so it looks like you early birds are going to have a nice little period of exclusivity. Thanks, everyone!

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Filed under: Video Games

Here’s an interesting one. That red / black Xbox 360 controller that was showcased back in July is now available to any ole consumer in the US, Canada, Latin America New Zealand and Asia, and it comes bundled with a Play & Charge Kit and red rechargeable battery for $64.99. For whatever reason, Microsoft’s totally missing a golden opportunity to cash in on the holiday shopping season by reserving the green counterpart as some “promotional item.” C’mon guys, is it really that hard to understand how irresistible a red and green gamepad tandem would be in late December?

[Via IGN]

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Nissan has a new electric vehicle concept that debuts this week at the Paris motor show known as the Nuvu. Measuring just 3 meters in length, this vehicle has a 2+1 seating arrangement, featuring solar panels on its glass roof with an overall tree theme in the design. Inside, the cabin is finished in natural, organic and recycled materials. I wonder just how many NBA stars are able to fit inside the Nuvu or other vehicles like it. As things stand at the moment, Nissan will roll out a production-ready electric vehicle at next year’s Tokyo Motor Show, with sales commencing in Japan and North America the year after. Time to get rid of our oil & gas stocks, perhaps?

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