Gadgetstronics

Verizon and AT&T have both gone on record saying they do not record SMS communications. The privacy debate is one that, understandably, gets emotions stirred, but you can all rest a little easy knowing the official stances of two of the major cellular networks.

Erica Sevilla, a Verizon spokeswoman, said:

I think people can feel comfortable we’re not storing information that can later be used against them. Unless you have something stored on your phone or on a recipients’ phone, it does not stay on our network for a long period.

AT&T said they do not store SMS messages beyond 72 hours, which are only kept for delivery purposes. In both cases, once deleted from the system, there is no conceivable way to check your text message communications short of physically going through your phone.

You may want to breathe a collective sigh of relief, but Rebecca Jeschke, spokeswoman for the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation, seems to think otherwise:

“We trust so much of our communications and thoughts, even, to these third parties who are capturing this information and storing it in various ways. It’s time for us to think about it.”

Gosh, we just want our private willy jokes remaining private. After all, it’s not fair everyone knowing about Mark’s miniscule member. [AP]

The Open Television Network, which was born this week, is a sneaky little behind-the-scenes platform that lets small media publishers sell content that’s distributed through RSS. It represents an entirely fresh approach to creating an unmediated online video marketplace between content owners/creators and consumers. Big publishers will continue to sell content through major stores like iTunes, but OTN allows publishers to distribute content that, if fairly priced, might make a few bucks.

It works via a technology the company previously built, called KlickTab. Users first set up an account, and then whenever they want to buy content from an OTN publisher, that account is debited when the item is downloaded. OTN lets the user subscribe to an RSS feed with audio or video content, permitting the viewing of headlines of new articles in media players such as iTunes or the Zune player.

Publishers are given instructions to publish their content to the OTN servers so the technology can track downloads and credit their account. The site is self-service, and there are no content gatekeepers. Pornographic content is removed. Downloaded files are not secure as once they hit a user’s machine, they can be copied.

According to OTN CEO, Philip Hodgetts:

“I think it’s really egregious that people would not be willing to pay a few pennies a minute for content.” Television content monetizes at roughly a penny a minute per viewer, taking advertising and cable subscription revenues into account.”

OTN’s fee is 15 percent for the money it collects. The service starts out new users with a $5.00 credit.

Read [Webware]

This strange appendage snaps on to the bottom of your standard PlayStation 3 SIXAXIS joystick, turning it into a poor-man’s DualShock controller.

PEGA’s oddly-named “Vibrating Bag” adds rumble capability to your stock PS3 controller. Now they don’t specify if the vibration actually works when the game generates its feedback signal, or if the thing just continuously rumbles. But couldn’t your tired hands use a relaxing massage anyway?

In addition to adding some unwelcome bulk to the controller, the remote receiver that plugs into the console’s USB port has a huge antenna sticking out of it, messing with your PS3’s sleek good looks.

If the contraption wasn’t off-kilter enough, it also has a built-in FM radio - ’cause there’s not thing I like to do more while playing a round of Uncharted than cranking up the Boomer and the Nudge morning show.

So if you really, really can’t bear to spend the bucks on a proper PS3 DualShock Controller, head on over to DealExtreme and take your chances.

read more about:

controller, dualshock, fm, playstation, ps3, radio, rumble, sixaxis, sony, vibration

The idea behind this phone concept is that it brings ideas together from past and present with its wood styling and smartphone functionality. The designer says the wood and rock casing is supposed bring together nature and technology, but it just looks like a piece of 70s tech to me (see the bluetooth headset with analog knobs). [Yanko Design]

The GPS market is a very competitive one, and it is hard for companies to make their name well-known when competing against giant companies like Garmin and TomTom. Today, Empower announced that they would be selling three new GPS units in the North American market.

In the PowerPlay lineup comes three GPS models, the first being the P2000. First thing you should know is that all 3 models feature 4.3-inch touch screen and Bluetooth connectivity for hands free calling. Now, the P2000 is a pretty basic model as it only comes with navigation, Bluetooth and traffic advisory data. Next up, we have the P2200 and basically the only extra thing that this comes with is a built-in camera. Furthermore, the last model, the P2800 adds a wireless backup camera as well as iPod connectivity.

Expect the P2000 available in March, and the other two are coming in the second quarter. Also, prices will probably be about $299 for the P2000, $399 for the P2200, and $499 for the P2800.

Via [NaviGadget]

An experimental helmet is being tested by scientists as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

It delivers low levels of infra-red light, which researchers at the University of Sunderland, believe may stimulate the growth of brain cells. Tests in mice showed it improved learning ability and a study in humans is due to begin in the summer. Current treatments for Alzheimer’s delay progression of the disease but cannot reverse memory loss.

The infra-red therapy was first developed to treat cold sores. But when researchers studied how it worked, they found it stimulated growth of cells and may have applications in other conditions.

[Read] [Via]

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Posted Jan 26th 2008 11:03AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
Call it fate or call it luck, but regardless of what you deem it, the latest wave of Cowon price drops will certainly save you a few bucks. Judging by listings at JetMall, Cowon has slashed dollars off of price tags attached to a variety of its devices, including $50 off of the luscious Q5W, $20 from the A3 30GB and some $90 from the 16GB iAUDIO 7. What’s more, the entire Q5W lineup now comes with a free GPS cradle and a warm fuzzy feeling to boot. So if you’ve been holding off on treating yourself to a new Cowon, we’d say now would be a fairly decent time to pull the trigger and indulge.

[Via CNET]

MTV TV Shows for PSP

The Portable PlayStation from Sony will receive new content in the near future, that will come in the form of UMD, also known as Universal Media Disc, which is a format made specifically for the PSP that didn’t become very popular.

So in order to give more fame to the potential format, Sony decided to start offering TV shows in UMD, most part coming from MTV programming. With that being said, here are some of the upcoming shows: Beavis and Butt-Head, Viva La Bam, Jackass, and Wildboyz. As you can see, this is true MTV material made available to target some PSP users.

New Mobile YouTube

The first mobile version of YouTube was put live on November 2006, but the Google-owned company has released a new and improved version, yesterday.

The main difference is the quantity of content available, on the past version, there wasn’t much, but in the recently launched model, there are “tens of millions of videos”. Another new feature is the community functions that didn’t exist before, like adding friends, posting messages in special boards, and more.

Believe it or not, another important change is the exclusion of advertisement, in other words, this mobile YouTube won’t have ads. According to Mr. Walk, from YouTube, this move was made in order to gain more audience, and to turn YouTube users, into mobile YouTubers.

But not everything is good in this announcement, the small notes mention additional charges made by your mobile service provider, that is, unless you have an plan with unlimited data transfer, otherwise it might be too expensive to watch YouTube on the go.

PS - http://www.m.youtube.com

Sources - Reuters and NYTimeso

Guest post by Tiago of Gadgetizer

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Sony Ericsson has announced their new T270 and T280 stylish and affordable phone. Both come in almost the same design, less than 13mm slim and brushed light metal with a glass finish. The T280 comes with a 1.3-megapixel camera while T270 does not have a camera module. Both will be available in same colors ~ Silver on Black and Copper on Silver. The Sony Ericsson T270 and T280 will available in selected market from Q1 2008. Check out more specs and pictures after the jump.

[Source]