A periodic roundup of relevant news… from our other blogs:

Motorola’s New Multi-Room DVR Software
The multi-room DVR launches continue to roll. Cincinnati Bell is now deploying Motorola’s software-based whole-home DVR solution, giving subscribers access to DVR features on up to eight client boxes over an in-home MoCA network.

The 3D TV Road Ahead
Two stories on 3D this week point in opposite directions for the future of the technology. On the one hand, Panasonic introduced a 3D camcorder designed to get consumers interested in producing their own 3D content. On the other hand, a publication covering Hollywood, has posted data suggesting that the revenue share from 3D movie screenings is declining.

Motorola Set-Tops for Comcast AnyRoom DVR
Comcast has officially launched its multi-room DVR service, dubbed AnyRoom DVR, in parts of Oregon and Washington. The long-anticipated service uses Motorola DCX set-tops with MoCA, and connects up to three client boxes to one 500GB DVR hub.

Revisiting Video Cache-and-Carry
There are a number of interesting discussions taking place now over different business models for paid TV content, but one current debate feels a bit like a throwback to 2007: the practicality of video streaming versus video downloading.

In a sure sign that broadband service is becoming commoditized, Multichannel News reports today that Best Buy will start selling retail 4G broadband services in 2011. Specifically, Best Buy will become a reseller of Clearwire WiMAX service, making it the first reseller outside of the network company’s cable operator investors.

Clearwire has had a pretty big presence in Best Buy stores to date, but with its own branding on prominent display. The new venture will be branded under Best Buy Connect – the same way Best Buy sells 3G service today.

The good news is, that if Best Buy is getting on board with the Clear WiMAX network, it means they have confidence in Clearwire’s projections for covering up to 120 million people in the biggest US markets by the end of this year. That’s a decent amount of geographic coverage for consumers who want high-speed mobile broadband.

When we last checked in with Monsoon Multimedia at CES, they had unveiled the Volcano “God Box” — a device that intends to do it all: DVR, placeshifting, Internet video, and local media playback. Although they’ve missed their spring target, the rebranded “Vulkano” is now available for pre-order with units expected to arrive early August.

Monsoon is no stranger to placeshifting technologies, as the team behind the HAVA Slingbox competitor. However, they’re seriously expanding their repertoire with Vulkano. And, on paper, their device appears most excellent. However, I’m reserving judgement until I’ve spent some time exploring the various features. And it’s the combined DVR+placeshifting functionality that interests me most. While Sling’s new parent company has integrated Slingbox technology into a DVR, that product is limited to DISH Network customers. Whereas Vulkano is an agnostic product, controlling all sorts of set-top boxes via IR, and recording (or streaming) high def video via component outputs. (Think Hauppauge’s HD-PVR.)

Monsoon intends to have Windows, Android, iPhone and iPad clients available at launch, in addition to their new 10′ interface, with Blackberry and Mac OS X software launching shortly thereafter. Hardware runs $279 – $379, dependent on the type (SD or eSATA) and amount (16GB – 1TB) of storage you choose.

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As Kindle 3 details trickled out last night, what most interested me was not the refreshed e-reader, but Amazon’s new Kindle cover with integrated light.

The “Kindle Lighted Leather Cover” is similar in appearance to previous Amazon covers, but obviously the retractable LED lighting sets it apart. Unlike every other light accessory currently on the market, that either unbalances the unit with regular batteries or requires the additional expense of those watch-type batteries when the juice runs out, Amazon’s light draws power directly from the Kindle itself – across the gold plated hinge points. Clever!

The new $60 cover is available in 7 colors and can be pre-ordered now. It’s expected to arrive August 27th, along with the refreshed 6″ Kindle hardware.

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Right on schedule, according to months of rumor and speculation, Amazon will begin shipping a new 6″ Kindle e-reader in August. While Amazon isn’t referring to the new model as the Kindle 3, it is indeed a third generation product. Unlike prior editions, the new Kindle will be offered in a graphite color, as seen on the recently refreshed 9.7″ Kindle DX, and the original white. Additionally, a WiFi-only model ($139) will accompany the dual 3G+WiFi capable model ($189). Speaking of that new DX, these updated 6″ Kindles seem to feature a similar e-Ink screen upgrade with faster page refreshes and increased contrast.

Possibly related to the enhanced display, battery life of the Kindle 3 has been improved. And it was done without compromising size – the new units are 21% smaller and 15% lighter. Which is what tempts me most. There also appears to be some software refinements, including an updated Webkit browser as reported by Engadget. (Will us K2 owners see some of this?) However, according to the WSJ, it appears periodicals will retain their basic text-centric presentation.

Last, but not least, the nav rocker sees a much-needed redesign — as I can’t say I’ve enjoyed flipping through the Kindle UI via thumbnail. Instead of a single nub handling 4 directional inputs and serving double duty as the selection button, there is now a more expansive pad to handle these tasks.

Amazon is accepting pre-orders now and units are set to arrive August 27th.

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I noticed the 6″ Amazon’s Kindle is out of stock on Amazon.com with no indication of when it might return. Put on your rosy-colored speculation glasses and you might expect to see a Kindle 3 refresh in the coming days. Rumors of an August announcement have been swirling around the net for a while now, suggesting a slimmer version with improved contrast and the color screen for instance – although I don’t expect the color thing just yet. Then again, it could simply be that they are selling Kindles faster than they can keep up with demand since they lowered the price to $189. Stay tuned.

This post republished from GeekTonic.

Print magazines have included online extras for years, but not quite in the way Time Out New York has done it with the publication’s latest issue of TONY Kids. In the August edition of the magazine, one of the articles includes a video extra that can be viewed through the Junaio browser on either an iPhone or an Android device. Point your phone camera at the article, and the relevant video launches. Presto. Instant multimedia from the flat pages of your printed periodical.

Unfortunately, from the video demo posted on YouTube, it doesn’t look like the augmented reality (AR) application is as seamless as one might hope. Users have to go through the Junaio app and then drill down into an additional content channel before any specific video is accessible. It would be just as easy to access a multimedia RSS feed with the latest video clips from TONY Kids; no AR or camera required. However, the concept is cool. And if it isn’t as easy as point and click yet, well, it’s still early days for AR.

TiVo software 14.5 recently started rolling out to Premiere owners. As usual, the initial wave of recipient hardware is a subset of total units. As I mentioned a few weeks back, the emphasis of this third Premiere update since launch is “stability and performance.” And initial forum reports have been positive… which is why I requested TiVo push me the update late last week.

Indeed, navigating the menus seem a bit snappier (which could be my imagination) and the Discovery Bar now caches images while navigating between screens instead of displaying empty squares as new content is download (which is not my imagination). I’ve yet to have a lock up under the new software, but my SDV Tuning Adapter reboots and periodic lost channels persist. In fact, my Premiere failed to record True Blood last night given TA flakiness. But I’m comfortable pinning most of that on Cox Communications and Cisco.

In conjunction with 14.5 seeding, TiVo’s also been sending out a user survey to gauge performance – something I don’t recall seeing in the past. Hopefully the responses have been mostly positive and the remainder of the Premiere customer base will receive 14.5 in short order. So that TiVo can move on to completing the HDUI.

TiVo Series3/HD owners are also queued up for a software update. 11h looks to bring bug fixes and keyboard support. Which, given TiVo’s recent FCC filing, lines up nicely with perhaps an imminent launch of the TiVo Bluetooth remote.

The Popbox ($130) media streamer has finally arrived… amidst reports of firmware issues. And we’ve got one. Tom, who reviewed the WDTV Live for ZNF, kept his pre-order in play despite these early reports and despite Syabas conceding there’s no imminent Netflix playback. Over the next few weeks he’ll put the box through its paces and share his experiences.

In the interim, check out a few Popbox unboxing photos. Tom prefers the integrated component connectivity versus the breakout cable design used by the WDTV line. Additionally, he was pleased to see an bundled HDMI cable – again, unlike the WDTV. I appreciate the more sleek and sophisticated looking remote than found with other devices in this price range.

On the other end of the spectrum, Syabas has made an interesting design decision in allowing the user to manage local storage. The Popbox ships with a 2GB SD card, which is used for writing movie metadata and storing PopApps. Unfortunately, the card isn’t shipped pre-installed and, ironically, early customers who followed the Quick Setup guide may have found themselves in a bad place. Bottom line: Insert the SD card before you do anything else.

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Clicker wants to be a sort of remote control for internet TV. When you visit the Clicker web site you can find links to watch streaming TV shows from a variety of sources including Hulu, Netflix, Amazon video on demand, and others. It’s a bit messy, since some videos are available to stream for free while others are only available for a subscription or one-time fee. But there are few sites that are quite as well organized as Clicker for finding out whether a video is available online.

Now Clicker has released mobile apps for Android and an iPhone version is coming soon. Unfortunately these mobile apps don’t actually let you stream video to a mobile device. Instead, they let you take advantage of the social networking aspect of the clicker community, which also launched today.

The idea is that you can connect Clicker to your Facebook and Twitter accounts to see what your friends who use Clicker are watching. You can also “check in” to shows, to let people know what you’re watching and rate programs or make recommendations for other users.

Overall, the Clicker mobile apps provide a way to find new shows that you might like or to share your interests with your friends. But I wish the app also let you stream video.

This post republished from Mobiputing.

A few weeks back, on the massive AVS Forum thread, I noticed comments of what appeared to be DTVPal DVR close-out pricing. After checking in with a DISH Network spokesperson yesterday, they’ve confirmed that the DTVPal DVR (~$250, no fees) is no longer offered and there are no current plans for a replacement model.

The DTVPal DVR was an interesting product, but DISH (or is that EchoStar?) never quite seemed to work out all the kinks or get any sort of mass market awareness. Which is unfortunate, given it’s been the only modern, economical OTA ATSC dual tuning DVR available. Then again, the DTVPal DVR was more digital VCR than DVR in the TiVo sense as recordings were scheduled via time slot versus show. Also, limited guide data was provided over-the-air via TVGOS or PSIP.

I had hoped and assumed Internet connectivity would provide a path forward – with video on demand, better guide data, and perhaps a greater leveraging of their existing satellite DVR functionality (via network update). But, alas, it wasn’t meant to be. RIP little weird ham hock tv cartoon mascot.

The good news is that Android users now have a choice of buying and reading eBooks with apps from Amazon, Borders, Kobo, or Barnes & Noble (not to mention free eBook apps such as Aldiko). That’s because Barnes & Noble is the latest major US booksellers to launch an Android app, with today’s introduction of Nook for Android.

The bad news is that the developers don’t seem to realize that most Android phones don’t have a ton of free store space for apps. The Nook installer is about 5MB, but after installing the app on my phone it took up 17.68MB of space. That makes it the largest app on my phone, by a longshot. Next up is Adobe Flash, which weighs in at 10.82MB. In fact the only app I’ve ever installed that was larger was Fennec (Firefox Mobile). By comparison, Amazon Kindle for Android takes up 3.58MB, while the Borders app is just 888KB.

If you can get past the enormous file size, Nook for Android offers pretty much everything you’d expect from an eBook app. Read the rest of this entry »

I doubt we’ll ever see a single, universal cable or connector to power each and every single mobile gadget… However, given the various devices that pass through my home and auto, it appears like we’ve settled on a solid trio of options.

Of course, there’s the iEcosystem’s dock connector. Yeah, it’s mostly proprietary. But given the vast number of iPods, iPhones, and iPads in circulation, it’s essentially the standard for many. Mini USB seems to be broadly deployed as well. Although, it’s clearly losing ground to the slimmer Micro USB connector. In fact, that revelation is what inspired this post. Just about every non-iDevice I’ve come across in recent months sports Micro USB. See my Blackberry Tour, Droid X (loaner), and Kindle above, for example.

Even though the industry hasn’t settled on a single, common connection, the majority of cables fortunately terminate with a standard USB connector for charging and/or syncing purposes. Making the nearly flush Belkin USB auto charger below a handy universal adapter. I picked up a pair last fall for our vehicles, and they’ve served us (and our gadgets) well. The ultimate home solution is probably a small, powered USB hub and some short cables from Monoprice. Unless, there’s an attractive charging station that already meets this need. Bueller?

The TV.com app for Google Android is one of the best tools available for streaming clips and full length episodes from recent and classic TV shows on an Android phone. Unfortunately, that’s not really saying much, since there are no official Netflix or Hulu apps for Android yet.

To be perfectly honest, the selection of full length episodes available from the TV.com app is pretty sparse. But if what you’re looking for are short clips from TV shows airing on CBS, the CW, Showtime, and a handful of other networks, the TV.com app has got you covered. Read the rest of this entry »

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When Hulu Plus launched a few weeks back, there was some initial device compatibility confusion – specifically, regarding the Sony PS3 implementation and compatible Samsung Blu-ray players.

Fortunately, at some point, the Hulu folks updated their supported devices webpage to bring some clarity to the situation. And they’ve confirmed that a PlayStation Plus subscription ($50/yr) is required during the Hulu Plus beta (invite only). Additionally, what was positioned as Hulu Plus integration into all current Internet-connected Samsung Blu-ray players has (thus far) turned out to be a single, higher-end model: the BD-C6900, ~$300.

While I’ve bought into Hulu Plus, I’m currently between PS3s and not quite committed enough to pony up for that particular Blu-ray player. So, until lower-end units are supported (or better yet, my Xbox 360 in 2011), I’ll be evaluating Hulu Plus via iPhone. (Thanks, Adam!)

A few months after announcing plans to launch a subscription-based music streaming and download service for mobile devices, MOG is now available for iOS and Android. The MOG app is available as a free download for each platform, and new users get a 3 day free trial of the service, after which the prices is $9.99 per month.

So what do you get for your money? Access to more than 8-million songs which you can play on-demand. MOG lets you enter the name of a song or artist and start playing it almost instantly. If you want to listen to your music when you’re on an airplane or in another situation where you may not have internet access, you can download tracks to your device — although they’ll stop playing if you stop paying.

Unlike free streaming radio apps such as Pandora, MOG will let you create “artist-only radio stations.” Read the rest of this entry »

The GeekTonic home has seen it’s share of eReaders including the Kindle, Nook and iPad. But when it comes to reading books, the Kindle is our all around favorite – especially with Amazon’s price drop (down to $189). Now, CEO Jeff Bezos tells us that Kindle books are now outselling Hardcover books on Amazon. For every 100 hardcover book Amazon sold in the past 3 months they sold 143 Kindle books. In the past month it grew to 180 Kindle books for every 100 hardcover books – a sign of further shifting towards eBooks.

But before we let this talk get too out of hand, lets consider that they are talking about hardcovers and not all books, such as paperbacks. Also consider that Amazon shoppers are obviously much more likely to use an eReader (particularly the Kindle) than the average bear too. Read the rest of this entry »

Boxee Chief Product Officer, Zach Klein gives a low-fi un-Boxee-ing intro video (recorded via iPhone) of the first D-Link Boxee box in its final production hardware. My favorite aspect of Boxee hardware continues to be the IR/RF remote control with QWERTY keyboard on the backside. The Boxee Box is slated for arrival in late October or early November and should retail for approximately $200.

This post republished from GeekTonic.

The Popbox ($130) media streamer from Syabas has been one of the more anticipated media players for 2010 and it seems to have arrived a few days ahead of schedule (yet still late). As a matter of fact Syabas, the company that brings us Popbox says they were “surprised” by the early availability on Amazon. Unfortunately, a number of those who pre-ordered the Popbox are having a pretty tough time with the media player so far.

Backing up for a sec, Popbox builds on the popular enthusiast-centric Popcorn Hour as a more general-consumer-friendly device. It features a brand new interface, many online content plugins (but no Netflix folks), a SDK, 100Mbps bitrate support, 1080p video and an attractive form factor.

Anyone who has followed a new-to-market media player knows that beyond the actual hardware specs inside, the success or failure of a device like this is the firmware/software that runs the thing and the diligence of the company to regularly update and improve that code. Typically there’s a private beta where the device is given to testers to report and assist the developers in fixing most problems with the device before it goes out to the general public. Unfortunately it appears the Popbox beta process wasn’t as far along as the company had hoped and, to make matters tougher, the shipments of the device happened a week before expected. Read the rest of this entry »

Late last week, Steve Jobs cut his Hawaiian vacation short so that he could respond to iPhone 4 reception concerns with a press conference. The takeaway seems to be that most smartphones suffer degraded network performance when held in specific ways, but the issue is overblown in real world usage. Yet, to overcome the iPhone’s particular deficiency and because Apple really cares about their customers (except those who write for Gizmodo), they’ll provide bumpers or cases free of charge to any who purchase an iPhone 4 prior to September, 30th.

What’s significant about September 30th, you ask? According to Jobs: “we’ll reevaluate then. Maybe we’ll have a better idea.” To assist Apple’s 18 PhDs in their 17 anechoic chambers totalling $100 million, I’m doing my part by Photoshopping together a trio of antenna design options above.

And from the Michael Jackson “You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me” (aka “No Glove, No AT&T Love”) collection, instead of accessorizing the current iPhone 4 with a case for improved reception, perhaps we should accessorize ourselves… with some anti-attenuating handware.