Lord Of The Rings Online Free-to-Play MMO games
Lord Of The Rings Online Goes Free-to-Play MMO In Autumn 2010. Warner Bros has announced that Turbine’s Lord of the Rings Online will be a ‘free to play game’ from this fall. Although it says that the game will be free to play, from what I’ve read, it seems to be to ‘free’ for the most part, but you’ll still have to pay for additional content which is very similar to Turbine’s other massively multiplayer online role playing game (mmorpg); Dungeons & Dragons Online.
Even though this is the case I still think it’s a great idea and it seems to be the way a lot of companies could be going, like EA who recently released FIFA Online which is completely free and Sony’s Free Realms which is also very popular due to the non-subscription nature.
With LOTR Online, you can get up to level 50 before you have to start paying money to continue levelling your characters. There are expansion packs, premium content, extra character slots etc which you will have to pay for. There’s even the option to sign on for the VIP pack which will give you unlimited access to all of the premium content available on the game along with priority server access.
As you can see, it’s not exactly “free” but it is a good idea. Why? Well I’d never have bought this game as it didn’t really interest me, but knowing that I can play it for free (up to a certain point) has me interested in trying out the game, and who knows, I might part with my money for additional content and become a LOTR VIP which is where all the money is made. It’s surely a risky move as they need players to want to pay money for additional content and many people will, but will it make enough money? Will people play the game for free only?
A beta will be starting from June 16 with the full game going live/free in Autumn in Europe and America. So if you want to be part of the beta then head on over to the Lord of the Rings Online website and sign yourself up.
So what do you think to this? Do you think it’s good that these MMO games are going to the free-play model and we pay for additional content or do you prefer buying the game and being rewarded with content for purchasing the game? Although, it makes you wonder whether they are doing this because they simply can’t compete on the same playing field as World of Warcraft with its huge subscriber base?Let us know what you think in the comments below.
New Sprint Motorola ES400 Business mobility cellphone
The new Sprint Motorola ES400 cell phone is a pure business OS for handheld devices, Business mobility, completely a seperate market. 6.5.x still has its uses in the business world for all sorts of portable electronics, not just phones.
The Sprint Motorola ES400 cell phone runs Windows Mobile 6.5.3, supports GSM HSPA and CDMA EVDO RevA compatibility. The ES400 has a 3.2-megapixel camera, 3.0-inch VGA touch screen, Full QWERTY Keyboard, WiFi, GPS, 600MHz powerful ARM 11 processor, 256MB RAM/1GB Flash, up to 32GB through the microSD slot.
New Cell Phones 2010 – New Motorola Cell Phones – New Sprint Phones
- Sprint Motorola ES400 cell phone photos
Sprint Motorola ES400 cell phone Features:
* Always-on Access to Enterprise Applications
Get real-time access to critical backend systems and the ability to interact with applications that provide the latest information, enable updates, and relay critical data. Plus, a 600 MHz processor and a micro-SD card slot that supports up to 32GB of additional memory.
* One-Click Data Capture
Empowers mobile workers to capture photos, videos, and barcodes and documents instantly—recording vital information that used to be scribbled down—or missed entirely. Snap it, tag it and act on it.
* Switchable 3G Networks
An industry first: dual 3.5G broadband WAN connects flexibly to both GSM and CDMA networks. Deploy a single pool of devices anywhere in the world on virtually any network. With the appropriate service plans, users can easily toggle between networks.
* Customizable Enterprise UI
User interface tailored for the enterprise empowers mobile workers to put the applications and functions they use most right at their fingertips. Faster, easier access to what’s really important, to maximize workflow efficiency.
* Sealing
Meets MIL-STD 810G rain standards; meets and exceeds IP42 sealing
* Vibration
MIL-STD 810G Method 514.5, figure 514.5C-1; 1 hour per axis
iPhone iOS 4 software update released on 21st June 2010
iPhone OS (iOS) 4.0 update, You can expect to see the iOS 4 software update released on 21st June 2010. Apple [AAPL] will be releasing iOS 4, formerly known as iPhone OS 4.0 on June 21. iPhone os 4 software update date. It will be a free upgrade to all users. iOS 4 will be made available on the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G (with some features missing) and the iPod Touch (not 1st gen model). As previously mentioned, iOS 4 will not be available for the Apple iPad until later this year.
When made available you’ll be able to download it from iTunes when you sync up your phone. We are in the process of creating a list of all the features that will be included in iOS4 and what it will bring to your iPhone 3GS and 3G and what the differences are, ie – what will be missing on the 3G version.
Stay tuned and we’ll have all the details soon.
Apple iPhone iOS4 Smartphone with 32GB new hardware
Thinnest Smartphone Apple iPhone 4 with iOS 4 & new hardware. Apple iPhone iOS4 Smartphone with 32GB new hardware. Apple have just announced their brand new iPhone at WWDC 2010, imaginatively named iPhone 4, just that, no iPhone 4G or iPhone HD – and yes, it would appear to be the iPhone 4G prototype model that we’ve all seen leaked by Gizmodo!
Hardware Design
At the announcement, Steve Jobs said that the new iPhone 4 brings over 100 new features to the table, focusing on just a few for the keynote. The casing is made from glass at the front and back, with steel around the sides and this new design makes it the “thinnest smartphone on the planet” at just 9.3mm.
It comes packed with a front facing camera, and a rear camera too. Also, there’s an LED flash on the back, so you can take photos in low light conditions!
It uses the same microSIM tray as the Apple iPad, so you won’t be able to put your own SIM in it unless you cut it down to size yourself.
You’ll also find a second microphone for noise cancellation which is great for calls in loud places, similar to what Google’s Nexus One Android phone has.
A lot of people were curious about the line at the top of the device, as it’s seldom seen with Apple’s focus on ‘unibody’ design. The reason for this is to use the band as part of the antenna system to improve the effectiveness for signal reception. What does this mean? Well, you might actually be able to make calls for starters! Assuming that works well, that’ll definitely a good improvement.
Apple iPhone 4 Smartphone Screen
The second big feature in the new iPhone 4 model is what Apple call a ‘Retina Display’, which offers four times as many pixels on the screen, to make it a much sharper screen than previous generations. Steve Jobs actually did a live demonstration of the new screen technology using a 3GS and an iPhone 4, and the difference was pretty striking.
Note the difference, with the 3GS image on the left and the iPhone 4 on the right. The iPhone 4 packs 960 x 640 pixels on the 3.5” display, which is a huge improvement over the 3GS.
Internal Hardware
The iPhone is powered by Apple’s own A4 chip – the same chip that’s used in the iPad – and packs a lot of hardware in such a small case. The battery dominates the case, so they’re squeezing as much power as possible.
It will come with up to 32GB of storage and 802.11n WiFi built in. A new addition not seen in previous iPhones is a 3 axis gyro, which is tied in with the accelerometer and compass to offer six axis control. Jobs did a demo of a simple 3D game with a stack of blocks, and the gyro seemed to be impressive for gaming purposes. It’ll be great to see games on the App Store that take advantage of the new hardware.
New Camera System
iPhone 4 comes with a new camera system that aims to take better pictures, particularly in low light. There’s now a 5 megapixel sensor in the device, but the big difference here is the backside illuminated sensor. 5X digital zoom is also offered, and, of course, it will utilise that LED flash they’ve put in.
So it’s great for taking still pictures, but what about video? You’ll be able to record 720p video at 30 fps, which is great for a mobile device! To take video even further on the iPhone, Apple have even created iMovie for iPhone to allow you to edit your video content without having to transfer them to your computer.
iPhone OS (iOS) 4.0 software update
You may be wondering what ‘iOS’ is… turns out, Apple ditched the ‘Phone’ part and renamed the operating system. Unfortunately, that’s the only thing that’s changed on the OS front, no new features except for what we already know were announced for the iPhone OS (iOS) 4.0 update, although Apple have officially added Bing to their list of search providers on the OS, with Steve saying “Microsoft has done a great job on this” (who’d have thought we’d ever hear that?). You can expect to see the iOS 4 software update released on 21st June 2010.
Video Calling
You know there’s a reason to be excited when Steve Jobs says there’s “One more thing…”. Steve did a live demonstration of a video call using the iPhone’s front facing camera to call Jony Ive. This is a great addition to the iPhone, and a wished-for feature from many users.
The service is called FaceTime, and only works over WiFi at the moment, but it’s a great advancement. Of course, iPhone 4 is required too.
Smartphone Apple iPhone 4 Availability
iPhone 4 looks like the best iPhone to date, with a much needed update to the look of the device. It’s available in both white and black, with a 16GB version costing $199 and a 32GB costing $299 on 2 year US mobile phone contracts. Pre-orders start June 15th, and it becomes available on June 24th.
It will be interesting to see what happens with the various iPhone mobile networks here in the UK, presumably they’ll end up being quite similar prices again, but I wonder how long us PAYG iPhone customers will have to wait until we can buy one without a contract?
With iOS 4 and the new hardware that comes with it, it’s sure to be a hit. Are you thinking of getting the new Apple iPhone 4? Let us know in the comments!
Goggles translation tool on your Android mobile phone
Google Goggles Makes Android Devices Mobile Translators. Google’s point-and-click translation tool on your mobile phone. Google has rolled out an expanded Google Goggles translation tool for Android devices using the image recognition technology of the service. The tool was originally introduced at the Mobile World Congress in February of this year in Barcelona. At the time only German could be recognized but with this roll out yesterday the service can now recognize English, French, Italian, German and Spanish and translate into many other languages. Google is currently working on expanding to more Latin-based languages and eventually aiming at other major languages like Chinese. It’s as simple as point, shoot and translate.
Here’s how it works:
• Point your phone at a word or phrase. Use the region of interest button to draw a box around specific words
• Press the shutter button
• If Goggles recognizes the text, it will give you the option to translate
• Press the translate button to select the source and destination languages.
Pretty cool. The example given is as simple as being able to read a menu item by taking a picture of it and letting Google tell you whether it’s what you thought it was. Just think how many waitrons will no longer have to deal with the “ugly American” syndrome of the completely inconsiderate notion that we don’t know every language on the planet. World wide peace may be available after all.
There is more to this release of Google Goggles (say that three times fast, by the way, and you’ll sound like you should be put in a psych ward) as the blog tells us
Every new release of Google Goggles contains at least one new feature and a large number of improvements to our existing functionality. In addition to translation, Goggles v1.1 features improved barcode recognition, a larger corpus of artwork, recognition of many more products and logos, an improved user interface, and the ability to initiate visual searches using images in your phone’s photo gallery.
This service works on any Android device running 1.6 or higher. I have not researched whether there are similar iPhone apps. Do you know of any? While this may not be even a tiebreaker to choose Android over the iPhone I suspect there will be more and more Android only services rolled out over time. In my opinion, the platform that provides the most utility v. the most gadgets will ultimately win. Interest in games and “attention diverters” only lasts so long while providing something that truly improves the quality of life will win the day in this mobile battle of titans.
What’s your choice?
Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 Android handset for games
The Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 Android phone has just been made official. The Xperia X8 runs Google’s Android mobile OS, but it’s been extended by Sony Ericsson to make it super easy to get straight to the apps you use most. You can assign a custom app to each corner of the screen for one touch access.
Sony Ericsson promises the Xperia X8 is its most entertaining smart phone yet. If you’re all for fun and games, then Sony Ericsson appears to have the ideal handset for you.
The bundled Timescape app lets you keep on top of all your social networks in one handy place and you can easily load up content from Facebook or YouTube. If you want some new music download songs using the PlayNow app or for a bit of stress relief load up additional apps and games from the Android Market. There’s a 3in touchscreen for navigation and a 3.2-megapixel snapper round the back.
Upcoming new Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 Android phone will be available later in the year, see Sony Ericsson for more information.
Nokia N9 first MeeGo-powered phone? pure rumour
A very tasty rumour indicates that Finnish mobile phones giant Nokia could be working on their very first MeeGo-powered phone. It’s a slider phone and is likely to be called the Nokia N9.
Disclaimer: This is pure rumour
Engadget broke the story based on what might be an ahead of schedule teaser leak for the Nokia N9. While this may be well fake, the production qualities in the video suggest otherwise, as does the look – in terms of design – resemble the Nokia N8 enough for this as-yet unreleased handset to be the successor of the Nokia N8.
Nice base to work off, if real
If the Nokia N9 is the real deal, and it is heavily modeled on the Nokia N8, just from a technical specifications perspective, this would be a great base to work from.
It looks well real, but still, we place this squarely in the ‘rumours’ category and suggest you think of it the same, too.
How not to blow this
We recently wrote a post on what Nokia needs to do to become genuinely competitive in the smartphone market again. We had many suggestions, but the two that resonate deepest with this potential Nokia N9 are hardware fatigue and mobile OS decisions.
Basically, Nokia should strongly consider dialing back the number of smartphones it releases per year so as to give the right amount of attention to each release. This will curb the occasionally poor execution that goes with quality handset design, as evidenced in the Nokia N900.
Our second concern with Nokia’s strategy was the company’s indecision in opting for one mobile OS and developing on that platform aggressively. Symbian^3 vs. MeeGo vs. other proprietary software makes decision-making very difficult for developers in terms of supporting the platform as well as confuses the customers about what Nokia is actually about.
Nokia has an opportunity to redeem its many recent missteps, but the company needs to execute well if they are to keep up with RIM, Apple and Google Android.
Samsung Galaxy Beam Android Projector Cell Phone
New Samsung Galaxy Beam Android Projector Cell Phone looks cool, can we pair it with Bluetooth headset… switch off the room lights and watch a cool movie. Maybe for business people always in the need of PPT presentation, but usually convention rooms are big and need big projectors…for sales presentations (product shots and the like) and general entertainment, this is great.
New Cell Phones 2010 – New Samsung Cell Phones – New Android Phones
-Upcoming Samsung Galaxy Beam Android Projector Cell Phone photos
The Samsung Galaxy Beam has a 3.7-inch Super AMOLED display, 3.7-inch Super AMOLED display and HD video recording, WiFi, A-GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, Tv Out, FM Radio, 16GB of internal memory, microSD card for expansion. The handset will run Android 2.1 OS. It’ll be as useful an as used as video chat.
Want to be able to share the pictures on your mobile phone with a group of friends? If your mobile phone had a built-in projector, it would be a lot easier. That’s probably what Samsung was thinking when it came up with the Galaxy beam, codenamed Halo. This phone is touted as the first Android-powered projector phone from the Korean company and is slated to hit Singapore in July, which hopefully means that it won’t take too much longer to be available in other locations. Pricing wasn’t mentioned, but specifications of the Samsung Beam include:
- 3.7-inch Super AMOLED display
- Wi-Fi b/g/n
- 8-megapixel camera with autofocus
- 7.2Mbps HSPA
- Quad-band GSM/EDGE
- Bluetooth 3.0
- Front-facing VGA camera
- HD video recording
- A-GPS
- FM radio
- 1,800mAh battery
- Projector
2GHz Motorola Android 2 smartphone vs iPhone 4
Motorola Android 2 Ready To Compete With Apple iPhone 4. Motorola has developed a new Google Android smartphone that will have a 2GHz processor. The Motorola Android 2′s High Speed 2GHz processor will be remarkable because its speed is double the speed of the other google android phones, Nexus One, HTC Droid Incredible and HTC Evo 4G smartphones.
Motorola’s co-CEO Sanjay Jha made the statement while addressing the Executives Club in Chicago. During his address the Motorola executive said that the company was yet to decide whether the Google Android Phone will run on Android 2.1 or the forthcoming Android 2.2.It is expected that Motorola would launch the new device before the 2010 holiday season.
Last year, Motorola had launched its Motorola Droid device on Verizon Wireless, the device will sport a gyroscope. iPhone 4 also comes equipped with a gyroscope. The Motorola Android 2 smartphone will also support 720p output and “HD screen resolution” just like iPhone 4 and HTC Evo.
According to eWEEK, the 2GHz processor is an incredible thing as the tech site tested the Nexus One, Droid Incredible and the recent HTC Evo 4G, running on 1 GHz processor and concluded that they are really fast. So, imagine the speed of 2GHz Motorola Android 2 phone.
Watch the 2010 World Cup on Your Cell Phone
How To Watch All The World Cup Games Online Or On Your Phone? Watch the 2010 World Cup on Your Cell Phone！Learn how to watch the 2010 World Cup on your cell phone so you never miss a play of the premier international football tournament.
With the World Cup opening ceremonies starting in the tonight of June 10, 2010, and the games kicking off tomorrow, we decided to put together this guide for watching the games on your cell phone so you’ll never miss a minute of the action. Check out your carrier below to find out what options you have for watching the games.
Watch the 2010 World Cup on Verizon Cell Phones
- V Cast Video ($10 a month)
With V Cast Video, any Verizon customer can watch all 64 games live in Spanish on Univison. If you desperately require your audio in English, you can catch a smaller selection of games on ESPN. - V Cast Mobile TV ($13-$15 a month)
For owners of the Motorola Krave and HTC Imagio, V Cast Mobile TV will show 56 live games. The V Cast Mobile options include a $13 limited package consisting of only Fox Mobile, NBC 2 Go, MSNBC, CBS Mobile, and a $15 basic package including CBS Mobile, Fox Mobile, NBC 2 Go, MSNBC, Comedy Central, ESPN Mobile, MTV, Nickelodeon, CNBC, Fox News, MTV tr3s – VZW Only, ESPN Radio – VZW Only.
Watch the 2010 World Cup on AT&T Mobile Phones
- MobiTV ($9.99 a month)
Apple iPhone users can download the free MobiTV app and then pay $10 to upgrade to the “full experience,” which includes ESPN Mobile TV. With this, you’ll get live streaming of all 64 matches in English. MobiTV is also available to hundreds of other phones across multiple networks to find out if your phone is supported text GETTV to 43888. - ESPN 2010 FIFA World Cup ($7.99)
If you don’t need live video, then you might want to check out this app. Apple iPhone users can download the free app and then make an in-app purchase of $7.99 to unlock its exclusive features, which include live ESPN radio streams, in-game video highlights, and video recaps for every match. - AT&T Mobile TV ($10 a month)
For users of the Samsung Mythic and LG Arena, AT&T Mobile TV offers access to ESPN Mobile TV, but it’s only available in selected areas so make sure you check if its availability in your city before you buy.
Watch the 2010 World Cup on Sprint Mobile Phones
Sprint TV (requires data package)
The EVO 4G, along with the majority of Sprint’s current phone lineup, can get access to 56 live World Cup matches with ESPN Mobile TV. For users who don’t have the required data package you can upgrade for $15 with an add-on data pack.
Watch the 2010 World Cup on T-Mobile Phones
MobiTV ($9.99 a month)
If you have the HTC HD2 you’re in luck as you can purchase MobiTV and watch 56 live games. T-Mobile customers with other devices are not as lucky as MobiTV is exclusive to the HD2 on T-Mobile.