Opinions seem somewhat split on the upgrades Apple made to its iPod line yesterday. A particular point of contention, though, is the lack of significant hardware upgrades to the iPod touch line. Expectations were high for the inclusion of a camera in the device, but Steve Jobs says that the camera was left out to make the iPod touch an inexpensive, affordable gaming device.

In an interview with The New York Times, Jobs reiterated that Apple sees the iPod touch primarily as a gaming device. Therefore, the goal with the latest revamp was to bring the cost down as low as possible—during the event yesterday, the company announced that the lowest-end iPod touch was now going for a mere $199.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Ars Technica – News

Loke Uei Tan, Senior Product Manager on the Windows Mobile Team, has apparently been talking heartily at TechEd Australia about the future of Windows Mobile (it certainly wouldn’t be the first time he said something noteworthy about new versions of the OS). Tan has been saying things we’ve heard from Microsoft for a while: the team is committed to addressing the areas where Windows Mobile is lagging behind, including modernizing the user experience for touch without breaking compatibility with existing applications. Tan reiterated that the software giant intends to fully support the various types of hardware devices (yes, that means non-touch devices) that we already see in current Windows phones while at the same time being much more strict about the hardware requirements of the OS to improve the baseline experience for all Windows phones. Nothing new, really, but it’s good to see that he still sees the problems Microsoft’s mobile division has.

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Prior to the game’s launch, Ben noted how surreal—and possibly tasteless—it was for Kurt Cobain to appear in Guitar Hero 5. Someone else seems to agree, as twitter posts from Cobain’s rocker widow, Courtney Love, imply that Cobain’s likeness was used without her permission.

Love’s foul-mouthed twitter updates, while difficult to fully comprehend due to their strange nature and erratic legibility, expressed some very definite viewpoints on the matter of her late husband’s appearance in Guitar Hero 5. “FOR THE RECORD I DID NOT APPROVE KURTS AVATAR FOR GUYITARHERO5. i think Kurt would despise this game alone let alone this avatar,” Love tweeted, also saying, “WE are going to sue the shit out of ACtivision we being the Trust the Estate the LLC the various LLCs Cobain Enterprises.”

Activision told Rolling Stone last month that Love had signed off on the use of Cobain’s likeness. Not only did Cobain’s widow Courtney Love have to sign off on behalf of the estate, so did former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl and Primary Wave Publishing (the company that handles the Nirvana catalog); the approval of all three was necessary to put Cobain in the game.

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Did you know that men on Twitter have an average of 15 percent more followers than women? What about the fact that a full third of YouTube users are “DIYers”—those looking for or posting videos about how to do all manner of things? If you didn’t know those things, Google’s new Internet Stat page aims to flood you with facts gathered from around the Web in a clean, easy-to-use search format.

According to the page, much of the data comes from numerous research firms, such as Comscore, Nielsen, Forrester, and Hitwise, though there are many publications in the list as well—BusinessWeek, The Economist, Wall Street Journal, and Financial Times to name a few. The resource doesn’t currently have what we would describe as a mind-boggling number of facts as of yet, but the database is growing and people can submit their own stats (with links to back them up) and the numbers are growing.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Ars Technica – News

Don’t worry, we’re still all recovering from Apple’s annual iPod event that took place yesterday. You may be disappointed that the iPod touch doesn’t come with a camera or pleased that you can now get the buttonless iPod shuffle in new colors, or just plain happy that Steve Jobs is apparently doing well on his new 20-something liver. Nonetheless, here are a few tidbits about the event that we thought you would be interested in but couldn’t get their own posts:

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The PlayStation Portable has received yet another firmware update, bringing the handheld up to version 6.00. But while nothing all that notable has been added, one of the updates hints at a fairly big change that could be happening in the future. Here’s a complete list of what’s new.

• Games can now be grouped and displayed in folders based on their expire date under [Game].
• Under [Settings], [Network Update] has been changed to [System Update]. Under [System Update], you can now choose how to update the system software.
• The number of colors that can be selected under [Settings] > [Theme Settings] has been increased.
• Revisions to strengthen security have been added. (Internet Browser)

Joystiq has surmised that the addition of expiry dates for games could mean that game rentals are on their way to the PSP, in the same way that users can rent videos. And with the all-digital nature of the upcoming PSP Go, this seems like a strong possibility. Hopefully we’ll learn more details when the new iteration of the handheld launches on October 1.

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Linux Foundation executive director Jim Zemlin has a message for Microsoft: he wants the software giant to stop attacking Linux. Zemlin contends that Microsoft is engaged in a covert war against the open source operating system and that the company’s hostile behavior is detrimental to the growing number of Microsoft customers who deploy mixed Windows and Linux environments.

Zemlin’s comments about Microsoft are a response to a patent auction carried out by Microsoft to sell a number of patents that the company allegedly said were related to Linux. The patents, which were originally obtained by Microsoft from SGI, were sold to Allied Security Trust (AST), a patent-holding group that grants its members perpetual licenses before reselling the patents.

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When my own PlayStation 3 died playing Batman: Arkham Asylum, it made me realize how much I loved my launch system, and after contacting a few people who felt the same way I wrote a story about the dedicated following of the 60GB units with the full backwards compatibility. The story had a great response, and e-mails poured in talking about gamers’ enthusiasm for the system.

The weird thing? I also heard from around five other people who had their 60GB systems die when playing Batman: Arkham Asylum. This is pretty unscientific, and it’s possible we’re just getting to the point where the systems are older and, coupled with a new game many of us are playing for hours on end, they’re beginning to fail.

Still, it’s information worth passing on, especially from a system that has such a great reputation for solid hardware. If you do play Batman on your 60GB unit, it might be a good idea to make sure it has even more ventilation than normal, and to take a break every few hours to allow the system to “rest” and cool down.

If you’ve had a similar problem, give us an e-mail and let us know.

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Motorola needs to spark some serious gadget lust next week when it unveils new phones to convince consumers and Wall Street that it’s still a player in the global mobile industry.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from msnbc.com: Wireless

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Broadband Wireless Access

Multimedia messaging will be available on the iPhone starting Sept. 25, according to AT&T, the exclusive carrier of the popular smartphone in the United States.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from msnbc.com: Wireless

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Broadband Wireless Access

Hola from the skies! Mexico no longer bans chatting on cell phones during flights. Mexico says improved technology now makes it possible to use cell phones and other electronic equipment during some flight phases without interfering with navigation systems.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from msnbc.com: Wireless

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Broadband Wireless Access

Microsoft Corp. is giving its operating system for “smart phones” a new look in time for the holiday shopping season.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from msnbc.com: Wireless

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Broadband Wireless Access