Last night Sling Media released updated the SlingPlayer for Windows 2.0 Public Beta with the release of the second beta build. The new build, .457, replaces the first beta build, .447, and can be downloaded from the Sling Media website. (Also for Canada.) Users who had previously installed Public Beta 1 will be prompted to auto-update SlingPlayer to the new beta build.
Disclaimer: I work for Sling Media as a Beta Manager.
Launched just over three months ago with a $349.99 price, Best Buy is now selling the Insignia NS-BRDVD Profile 1.1 Blu-ray player for only $229.99. The NS-BRDVD, like seemingly all of the low-cost Blu-ray decks, is a variant of the Funai NB500.
It had been rumored that Funai was going to cut the MSRP of the NB500 from $299 to $249 to remain ahead of expected price cuts coming from Sony. Perhaps this is a manifestation of those cuts. The unit had already been selling for less than the previous MSRP, so this would be in keeping with the pattern.
Picked up from EngadgetHD.
Amazon is having another Blu-ray sale, this one is three titles for the price of two. With 36 titles to select from, for every three titles purchased you get one free. (Undoubtedly the lowest priced one.)
Picked up from Blu-ray Stats News Log.
I enjoy things like this, which just shows how much of a geek I am. I like getting a little peek under the covers at how various products are brought together. This time Wipro Technologies issued a press release to tout the fact that TiVo selected their “DVB-T and Common Interface (CI) software stacks for its solutions targeting Australian and European markets.” Hmm, did you notice something there? That one word? “European”? I wonder if Wipro knows something. Perhaps, as there is more.
“TiVo has been an innovation leader since its inception. It has changed the whole TV viewing experience through their innovative DVR solutions over the years. We are excited about the fact that Wipro’s multi-country compliant DVB-T stack, along with DVB-CI stack, has been adopted by TiVo for their DVR solutions.” Said Nagamani Murthy, Vice President, Mobile Consumer Electronics & Automotive Group,Wipro Technologies
Interesting how they explicitly mention ‘multi-country compliant’. Perhaps I’m reading too much into it, but it has always been fairly clear that TiVo plans to attack the European market. They’ve exhibited EFIGS (English, French, Italian, German, Spanish) software at CES. They had a generic DVB-T platform on display next to the Australian box. The only really questions are when and where. I still think the UK is the logical choice for the first European market since DVB-T Freeview is popular and they already have the infrastructure in place to support the lingering UK customers from their first foray there.
There have also been hints that New Zealand will likely follow Australia once the Australian market has settled down a bit.
Ouch, yeah, in a world full of $199 iPhones, the Palm Treo Pro is $549. Though that does include a free international power adapter and free shipping. Yay? Don’t get me wrong, I think the Treo Pro is a very nice phone, and if any Windows Mobile phone were to sway me to the dark side it would probably be this one. I might even seriously consider paying $549 for it over an iPhone, since a physical keyboard is a big deal to me. (I’m not going to buy either of those – the Android phones are due soon.)
Why so much more than the iPhone? Well, the iPhone is only that cheap because it is sold with a subsidy lock tying it to AT&T, and they make up the money on the back end with the contract. The Palm Treo Pro has not been picked up by a carrier in the US, so it is only available unlocked – so it is usable on any GSM network. Just pop in your SIM and go.
It is a very nice smartphone. Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional running on a 400MHz CPU with 128MB RAM and 256MB storage (100MB user accessible). 320×320 screen, HSDPA/UMTS/EDGE/GPRS/GSM – tri-band UMTS and quad-band GSM, 802.11b/g with WPA/WPA2, GPS, BlueTooth 2.0+EDR, 2MP camera, microSDHC slot (up to 32GB), a real 3.5mm headphone jack, micro-USB connector, and a real QWERTY keyboard.
It is really aimed at high end business users, a more powerful alternative to the Blackberry. (And no having to decide between GPS and WiFi!) But not being available with a contract for a cheaper price is probably going to really hurt sales.
