Author: Serkadis

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If you haven’t purchased Metroid Prime Trilogy but still plan to eventually, your window of opportunity is closing fast. Coffee with Games reports (via Kotaku) that Nintendo has confirmed the game is “no longer being shipped,” meaning if your local game retailers are all out of their new copies, you’re likely stuck looking in the used section.

“Unfortunately, Metroid Prime Trilogy is no longer being shipped. Having said that, you may be able to find what you seek through the secondhand video game market,” read a response from Nintendo about the status of Metroid Prime Trilogy. A later response added a bit more information, if not any more clarification: “When first introduced, it was announced that there would be limited availability. However, a reason for this was not announced.”

The end result is a compellation that was only at retail for about four months — a fairly unusual situation. This also marks the first New Play Control! title (adding Wii motion controls to the first two Metroid Prime games) to be discontinued, but Nintendo did make clear the other New Play Control! games (Pikmin, Mario Power Tennis, and Donkey Kong Jungle Beat) “are still being shipped.”

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At the Startup Debut event earlier on at CES, we got to check out this great, and practical, new guitar component called Evertune. It’s a bridge that keeps your guitar tuned at whatever you put it at, but not using freaky electronics. I thought it had to involve microservos and such, but no:

The EverTune bridge feeds your guitar strings into an adaptive spring-tensioner inside the guitar body. As each string or tuner posts loosens, the springs compensate, maintaining exactly the tension you set the first time you tuned the guitar, no matter how hard or how often you play.

Good for those of us who take an hour to tune our guitars because we don’t know what we’re doing at all. I am a little suspicious, however: if it’s such a simple principle and essentially has no downside, can it really have not occurred to anyone yet to create it? I mean, it is self-evident that no one has, but I wonder if there’s a dark side to the product they’re not telling us about.

Their FAQ is pretty comprehensive, though, and assures the reader that there will be no real change in tone and you can bend it like you would any other guitar. They’ve also got better pictures of the guts; I accidentally set my camera to EV-2 so they came out a little dark.

And just for kicks, here’s Greg rocking out:

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CES always seems shorter than it really is. We’ve been here in Vegas since Tuesday, reporting live on almost everything of any importance, and we’re all goofy and tired. I usually hate CES. It’s a long slog through endless halls and repetitive meetings that go over what has already been gone over. But this year was different.

This year’s CES was strangely subdued yet refreshing. CE companies have stopped the genitalia-waving associated with speeds, sizes, and megapixels and have started producing products with considerably more finesse. The devices we saw were well-designed and featured a number of clever UI tricks that can turn an average iPod dock into a thoughtful device designed for a specific purpose and person.

Manufacturers have figured out that numbers on products don’t sell. Features sell, and I’m talking about top-line features, not the details. Consumers have been bombarded with speeds and feeds for so long that they’re now noise. TV manufacturers, for example, have stopped fighting about screen size and have started focusing on how to convince millions of viewers to switch to a 3D-ready Blu-Ray/TV combo. That’s going to be a tough fight and it won’t behoove them to mention very much about HDMI interoperability and refresh rate. Instead, they are creating compelling reasons to upgrade including on-screen, open widget and streaming systems as well as cool new energy saving techniques.

The products this year are touchy feelie. Say what you want about cynical manufacturers “going green” but there is a focus on design and durability over high tech. Perhaps its a reaction to the economy – there’s no R&D budget – or maybe it’s a reaction to a skittish consumer who doesn’t want throwaway tech. Regardless, I like where this is going.

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Thankfully, Razer is finally getting into the console market. In addition to the Onza controller we told you about yesterday, Razer is also launching a wireless gaming headset to use with your Xbox 360.

The Chimaera definitely brings something to the table, it’s wireless of course, and supports full 5.1 sound just like your Xbox. Since this is considered to be a professional level headset, it also will allow you to daisy-chain several headsets together at one time so your entire team at the lan party can maintain communication. MSRP is $129.99, and they will be available worldwide. The one we saw at CES was a mock-up though, so I wouldn’t expect it soon.

From the press release:

Razer Chimaera Professional Gaming Headset for Xbox 360
The Razer Chimaera Professional Gaming Headset for Xbox 360 is designed to provide sharp sound quality that optimizes the gaming experience with crisp, roaring sound from a 5.1 Channel Virtual Surround Sound system. Although the majority of games are encoded with the full 5.1 surround sound, most gaming headsets are only equipped to offer stereo-grade sound, while the Razer Chimaera offers the full range of sound, enhancing the entire Xbox experience. A Daisy-Chain solution allows multiple Razer base stations to be connected to create a direct, private communication channel for in-game team conversations. The circumaural design of the headset allows for optimum noise isolation for long-hours of comfortable gameplay without any outside interruptions.

Razer Chimaera Professional Gaming Headset for Xbox 360
COST: US $129.99; Europe €109.99

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Tomorrow morning, two of the egmCarTech editors will be driving a 2010 GMC Acadia (we’ll tell you more about that during our drive tomorrow) to Michigan for the 2010 Detroit Auto Show. We’ll be kicking off live coverage on Monday, rolling into Tuesday.

Besides Transportation secretary Ray LaHood, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, we’ll see over 50- new vehicle premieres. Here is a list of what you can expect to see next week in Detroit.

If you need quick access to all the 2010 Detroit Auto Show news, click the shortcut in the sidebar under the Breaking and Featured Headlines – or you can just visit the 2010 Detroit Auto Show Tag directly.

Check out the complete list after the jump.

2010 Detroit Auto Show Debuts:

2011 Audi A8
2011 BMW 740i / 740Li
BMW Concept ActiveE
2011 BMW Z4 sDrive35is
Buick Regal GS Concept
2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe
Cadillac XTS Concept
Chevrolet Aveo RS Concept
Chrysler sedan derived from a Lancia
Fiat 500 electric Concept
2011 Ferrari 458 Italia
2011 Ford Focus
2011 Ford Mustang GT
2011 GMC Acadia Denali
GMC Urban Utility Concept
2011 Honda CR-Z
Hyundai BLUE-Will Concept
2011 Lincoln MKX
2011 Maserati GranTurismo Convertible
2011 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Cabriolet
Mini Beachcomber Concept
Toyota Dedicated Hybrid Concept
Volvo C30 BEV
2011 Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid

…and much more.

Once an Apple (AAPL) engineer, Andy Rubin went on to co-found mobile computing outfits Danger Inc. and Android, Inc. He sold the former to Microsoft (MSFT) and the latter to Google (GOOG), where he is now now vice president of engineering. He’s also the guy quarterbacking development of the company’s Android mobile operating system and the Nexus One–the smartphone with which Google hopes to fundamentally change the way people buy cellphones.

In conversation with All Things Digital’s Walt Mossberg today, Rubin talked about the mobile space, Google’s plan for an enterprise version of the Nexus One and its vision for the way phones should be bought and sold.

Walt starts off by asking Rubin about just how involved Google was in the development of Nexus One.

Rubin replies, “We threw out crazy ideas to our partners at HTC and they were pretty good about plucking the good ones out of the air and building them into the device.”

Walt asks about the new business model Google’s launched in concert with Nexus One. Was this something the company planned all along?

“This is the next phase of Android–taking the newest versions of the product, placing them online and allowing consumers to purchase them directly,” says Rubin. “What we’ve learned is that there are more efficient ways of connecting consumers with the phones they’d like to purchase…easier ways.” Purchasing a Nexus One through Google, says Rubin, is a casual process. “No one’s breathing down your neck,” he says. “No one’s trying to upsell you.”

Nexus One is aimed at consumers who love their Google services and live in the “Google world,” Walt notes. Yet, Google is encouraging developers to build new apps for Android and Nexus One. How do you reconcile that? Isn’t there something contradictory to saying “we’re an app platform, we’re open,” and then turning around and saying “we’re really a platform for people who love Google?”

Rubin obviously doesn’t think so. He stresses that an OS can’t be successful unless people are developing for it. “It reminds me of the accessory business,” he says. “The most successful phones have the most earbuds, car chargers, etc.”

Walt wonders if Rubin is at all surprised by the size of the apps revolution, by the fact that there are 100,000-plus apps in the iTunes Apps Store.

“I’m not surprised by it at all. This is what happens when you drop the barriers to entry,” he says, recalling how difficult it once was for developers to distribute their apps and how easy it is today.

This new purchasing model Google has created for the Nexus One puts the company at the center of the experience. People who purchase the Nexus One think of themselves as Google customers. Rubin says, “What we’ve done here is to offer a mobile platform where people don’t have to worry about the plumbing.”

Walt notes reports today about people unhappy the customer service Google is providing for the Nexus One; there is only e-mail customer service, and no phone support. Rubin concedes that there is no phone support and that there is sometimes a 3-day delay in response time. “We have to get better at customer service,” he says, adding that for launch, they are doing great.

Moving on to the issue now of 3G network performance, which is been a very real issue at CES, especially for AT&T. Rubin says Moore’s Law applies to bandwidth — 4G is on its way, and after that 5G. Walt suggests that the addition of new phones like the Nexus One and the host of other superphones going to exacerbate the problem. Rubin says that doesn’t have to happen; if carriers were more on point and did what was necessary to maintain and upgrade their networks dropped calls etc. would be as much of an issue as they are for some carriers today.

In his interview with Kara Swisher earlier, Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein–a former Apple engineer–said, “I don’t have an iPhone. I’ve never even used one.” In contrast, for those who may be wondering, Andy Rubin says he does use an iPhone. “What do you expect? I’m a gadget guy.”

More Posts and Articles from CES

• CES Full Coverage on AllThingsD.com
• Netflix CEO Reed Hastings interview with Peter Kafka
• Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein interview with Kara Swisher

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One major trend dominating CES 2010 is the massive uptick in manufacturers showing off e-reader devices, software and technology. Vendors of all sizes are here in Las Vegas introducing products they hope will capitalize on piqued consumer interest and the predicted growth in the e-book market in the year ahead.

The biggest (literally) and most impressive electronic ink devices at the show are easily the 8.5 x 11-inch Plastic Logic Que proReader and 11.5-inch (measured diagonally) Skiff Reader. Two touchscreen devices with integrated 3G targeting two totally different audiences. The Que proReader’s gunning to replace bulky stacks of business papers with support for truVue PDF files, MS Office docs, e-mail, and Outlook calendar support. The Skiff Reader, on the other hand, is being pitched as a consumer device with a compelling value proposition for publishers (by publishers) and content owners that will ultimately deliver multimedia on a wide range of devices and display types hooked into the Skiff Store — just not the flagship Skiff Reader with traditional e-paper display.

Otherwise, the CES show floor is absolutely littered with electronic ink also-rans, hybrids, and new screen technologies looking to knock-off the incumbent Kindle, underlying E Ink technology, and Amazon juggernaut. If we’re lucky, that’s exactly what’s going to happen later in the year. Read on to find out why.

Continue reading The e-Reader story of CES 2010

The e-Reader story of CES 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Jan 2010 16:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You won’t know it by the product’s official name, but this is the FLO TV appendage for the iPhone that’s been teased since November last year. Combining a mobile TV receiver with Mophie’s juice pack, this is 2mm thicker and noticeably heavier than the normal external battery pack. You can see comparison shots in the gallery below — the red and black units are samples of the new peripherals while the white one is the standard Mophie hardware. Alas, no working FLO TV demos were available, but we were told the iPhone UI should be on different from what the company offers at present. Reps kept mum on pricing, but they confirmed the juice pack TV should be arriving in the first half of 2010.

Mophie juice pack TV hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Jan 2010 15:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Echoing statements made by CEO Sanjay Jha earlier in the week regarding the Droid and CLIQ, Motorola’s European division is letting everyone know that its own Android devices are in for their own updates pretty shortly. Android 2.0.1 is apparently “on its way” for the Milestone already with users being advised to keep an eye on Moto’s Facebook page for more details; as you might recall, this is the same version the phone’s American cousin got a few weeks ago. This will be followed on by 2.1 — the version introduced on the Nexus One — “in the next 2 months.” Oh, and DEXT owners, don’t worry, you’re not being left out in the cold — Moto says you’re on track to get 2.1 as well, though there’s no timeline just yet

Motorola Europe says Milestone getting Android 2.1 soon, 2.0.1 even sooner originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Jan 2010 15:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jelli, which launched last year, is a user-controlled online streaming service – sort of a Digg for streaming music, or a group-controlled Pandora. Listeners vote songs up or down to create and alter the playlist.

Today they’re announcing an important business development deal – an actual radio station, Live 105 in San Francisco, will be using Jelli to set their playlists every weekday. Starting this Monday, every weekday from 8 pm to midnight, Jelli takes over.

Users don’t just vote songs up and down. They also get a limited number of Rockets and Bombs to move music more definitively up and down the list. And the chat area gets lively.

Bad news for those radio DJs.

Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors

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Earthquakes and Twitter go way back. One of the first true signs of the service’s power was when an earthquake would happen somewhere in the world and people in those areas would jump on Twitter to talk about it in real time. So it makes sense that someone would set up an account simply to auto-tweet when quakes happen.

David Shamma has created the @sfusgs account to automatically tweet with USGS data when a new earthquake hits in the Bay Area. More interestingly, the tweets take advantage of Twitter’s new geolocation API, so if you’re using a third-party app that supports location, you can see the quakes on a map. Each tweet also includes the time of the quake, the depth at which it took place, how far it was from San Francisco, and a link back to the USGS site with more info.

As you’re probably aware, the San Francisco Bay Area is a pretty active place for earthquakes, so an account like this is useful. For example, the latest tweet was from just this morning, when a minor 2.5 magnitude quake hit the area following a larger one a couple days ago. Any quake over this 2.5 magnitude threshold gets tweeted out, according to Shamma.

There have been other accounts set up to do similar things in the past, for example, @sfquake, but that account has been dormant for over 2 years. Plus, that included none of the geolocation tweet data, which is useful.

And while the @sfusgs account may be taking data from the USGS and putting it in its own Twitter stream, the USGS itself is actually going the other way. The service noted yesterday that it would begin leveraging Twitter data to help with its reports. From their release:

In this exploratory effort, the USGS is developing a system that gathers real-time, earthquake-related messages from the social networking site Twitter and applies place, time, and key word filtering to gather geo-located accounts of shaking. This approach provides rapid first-impression narratives and, potentially, photos from people at the hazard’s location. The potential for earthquake detection in populated but sparsely seismicly-instrumented regions is also being investigated.

Twitter and earthquakes; the love affair continues.

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

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Filed under: Technology

Every carmaker has seen Ford‘s success in promoting its Sync technology, and they want a piece of that pie – as do many suppliers. Sync is built on top of a Microsoft-developed software platform and after a couple of years of Ford exclusivity, Kia just announced a similar system called Uvo. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, Continental announced its own competing platform for in-car connectivity called Autolinq.

While Microsoft’s in-car operating system is completely proprietary, Continental’s system is based on the Google’s open-source Android OS. Android’s popularity is on the rise thanks to cell phones like the new Nexus One and the Motorola Droid. Continental hopes to leverage that community of software developers to create applications that can be downloaded directly to the car. This roughly mirrors Ford’s recent announcement that developers will be able to create apps for Sync.

Continental plans to release a software development kit for Autolinq by the end of March, and have applications to demonstrate in the second half of this year. So far, there’s no word on any automakers adopting Autolinq for their vehicles.

[Source: Continental]

Continue reading Continental announces Android-based Autolinq to compete with Sync

Continental announces Android-based Autolinq to compete with Sync originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 09 Jan 2010 16:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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According to a couple of Tweets from community manager Sam Van Tilburgh, Lionhead is ready to give the world its first good look at Fable 3 at a San Francisco event next month (via VG247).

“I’m writing storyboard summaries for two new #Fable3 videos @LionheadStudios,” the first Tweet read, followed by one reading, “videos are to come out when we show #Fable3 for the 1st time at an event next month in SF.”

Van Tilburgh didn’t mention which event it would be, but possibilities include the D.I.C.E. Summit in San Francisco on February 17, or Gamefest on February 10… although that takes place in Seattle, so maybe not. Then again Lionhead might just have their own event planned for Fable 3 next month, so we’ll see.

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…The $167,000 grant will help to establish the database infrastructure to coordinate existing community-service and service-learning efforts, while supporting the institution in its expansion of community outreach to high need areas.

»Read the full article in The Miami Herald

Filed under: Hardware, Multimedia, Rumors, Apple, iPhone, iPod touch

Isn’t competition wonderful? Apple Insider is citing a well-placed source saying Apple is grabbing significant quantities of LED flash devices for use in the iPhone — possibly for the iPod touch as well, if Apple decides to add a camera to that product.

“People familiar with Apple’s initiative claim the electronics maker is seeking allotments of LED camera flash components in the tens of millions for delivery during the 2010 calendar year, meaning future iPhones — and possibly the iPod touch — are the most likely recipients of those parts, due to their sales volume. Those same people say that Philips’ Lumileds Lighting sector is believed to be the front-runner for Apple’s business and may have already secured the design win. “

Other reports say Apple has placed an order with Omnivision Technologies for 5 megapixel camera sensors. The current 3.2 megapixel Apple currently offers is looking a bit stale in light of 5 MP chips on some of the newer Android phones. I wouldn’t be surprised to see multi-tasking finally make it to the iPhone in an upcoming iteration as well.

While Apple has a top selling smartphone, the competition will certainly push Apple into adding more features to keep a dominant position. Google Voice and Google Navigation anyone?

TUAWRumor: Will Apple add a camera flash to the iPhone? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 09 Jan 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve been in a globe-trotting mood for the past two weeks here at the ReadWriteWeb Events Guide, adding new conferences and seminars in London and Australia. As always, you can download the entire event calendar in iCal format or import it into your Google Calendar. You can also import individual events using the link beside each entry. We publish it every weekend, as good a time as any to review your conference plans. This events guide is a weekly feature here on ReadWriteWeb.

Know of an event taking place that should appear here? Let us know in the comments below or contact us.

Sponsor

11 January 2010: Nashville, Tennessee

Social Fresh Nashville

This is the social media conference that comes to you. Social Fresh is a one-day, case-study-rich conference targeted for marketers. Social Fresh Nashville will have 30-plus speakers, including Jason Falls of Social Media Explorer, Gavin Baker of Ruby Tuesday and John Andrews of Collective Bias (formerly of Walmart).

ReadWriteWeb readers get a 15% discount with the code “RWW15″.

14 January 2010: Palo Alto, California

The Founder Showcase

The Founder Showcase, by TheFunded.com, is an open startup pitch and networking event that highlights the newest cutting-edge businesses and helps innovators gain traction among the Silicon Valley elite. On Thursday, January 14th, 10 of the most promising early-stage companies, as selected by over 13,000 registered Founders and CEOs on TheFunded.com, will present to an audience of over 300 investors, founders, and members of the press. A panel of experts will critique the pitches, and an open ballot of those in attendance will determine the Founder Showcase Winner.

ReadWriteWeb readers receive a 10% discount when registering, just use discount code “RWW”.

20 January 2010: London

New Digital Revenue Streams Seminar

Madgex and Abacus e-Media are hosting a free seminar that will offer advice and case studies from media organisations that have successfully created a direct impact on profit margins. The event is supported by the Association of Online Publishers (AOP) and Haymarket-owned Brand Republic, and will feature speakers, including David Archer, CEO of Scottish Television.

The breakfast seminar takes place at the Council Chambers, Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane, London from 8.30-11 a.m. (registration and breakfast from 8.15 a.m.). To register, book here or email [email protected].

26 January 2010: San Francisco, California

Catalyst Conference

Vator.tv, a leading platform for entrepreneurs and innovators to broadcast themselves, and provider of news and information through VatorNews, and Girls in Tech, a social network enterprise focused on education and empowerment of influential women in technology, are seeking five women-led startups across any stage to present at the Catalyst Conference on January 26, 2010 at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. To be one of the five, join the Catalyst competition today and win the chance to present.

27 – 28 January 2010: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Enterprise Social 2.0: Rip or ROI?

This senior executive event will bring together decision makers from the Top Fortune companies to discuss innovative strategies on how to maximise business performance through social media engagement. The event will include keynote speeches, best-practice presentations as well as interactive discussion sessions.

The summit will provide excellent opportunities for you to hear international experts discuss best practices on how to drive business performance using Web 2.0 and social media. Key issues to be discussed include:

• How to integrate social media programs successfully into business strategies?
• Building business momentum, visibility and market growth through social media
• Measuring success and influence using metrics and analytics: what are the tools and techniques
• Integrating viral marketing and social media into traditional marketing mix
• Developing and activating audiences using social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, blogs

1 – 5, February 2010: New York City, Berlin, London, San Francisco, Toronto, S�o Paulo

Social Media Week

The second annual Social Media Week conference will explore the profound impact that social media has on culture, business communications and society at large.

The conference is designed as a series of localized events, which city partners are responsible for organizing. Programs will span a variety of formats, ranging from talks and panel discussions, to interactive workshops, seminars and networking events. Registration will open in January 2010 and the majority of events will be free thanks to the global sponsors and event partners.

You can find more information at http://socialmediaweekny.com.

4 February 2010: San Francisco, California

Vator Splash

Vator.tv, a leading platform for innovators and entrepreneurs to broadcast themselves, is holding its inaugural Vator Splash event on February 4, 2010 at the Cafe du Nord in San Francisco. Catch onstage presenters: Zynga CEO Mark Pincus, Smule CEO Jeff Smith, August Capital VC Howard Hartenbaum and Google Ventures VC Bill Maris. Ten promising startups will also get to present onstage. Enter the Vator Splash competition if you want to present.

ReadWriteWeb readers get a 25% discount on their tickets using the code VatorReadWriteWeb.

8 February 2010: Tampa, Florida

Social Fresh Tampa

This is the social media conference that comes to you. Social Fresh is a one-day, case-study-rich conference targeted for marketers. Social Fresh Tampa will have 30+ speakers, including Chris Barger of GM, Maggie Fox of Social Media Group and John Andrews of Collective Bias (formerly of Walmart).

ReadWriteWeb readers get a 15% discount with the code “RWW15″.

10 February 2010: New York City

Online Community Unconference East

The Online Community Unconference East is a gathering of online community professionals – managers, developers, business people, tool providers, investors – to discuss experience and strategies in the development and growth of online communities. As we have found with our past events, the best source of information on all of these challenges is other knowledgeable practitioners. The event runs from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Digital Sandbox.

11 February 2010: New York City

NYC Venture Capital and Angel Showcase

FundingPost is hosting a VC showcase where 20-plus VC funds and angel groups will be exhibiting their firms during a great cocktail party setting. Each fund will have their own table setup for the sole purpose of meeting great new companies.

Additionally, there will be an optional pitching workshop from 2:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. The cost to participate in the workshop will be $400. This workshop includes the $125 ticket to the event, and a 1/4 page listing in the Venture Guide Magazine. This event is sponsored by Credit Suisse, and takes place at One Madison Avenue, from 6-9:15 p.m.

18 February 2010: Silicon Valley, California

Future of Funding

Active limited partners, top rated venture capitalists, and successful entrepreneurs are invited to Silicon Valley on February 18, 2010 to discuss the Future of Funding. The venture capital bubble has burst, and change is coming. Now is the time to have a constructive dialog about the future with all of the stakeholders at the table.

Don’t miss the opportunity to partake in this exclusive event hosted by TheFunded. Please visit www.futureoffunding.com to see speaker and event details.

ReadWriteWeb readers use the code “RWW” and get 10% off.

15 – 16 March 2010: London, England

2nd Annual Social Networking World Forum — London

The 2nd Annual Social Networking World Forum takes place at the Olympia Conference Centre in London. The two-day event features four dedicated conference streams:

1. Social Networking World Forum
2. Enterprise social media
3. Social TV World Forum
4. Mobile Social Networking Forum

The event features key speakers from global brands, organizations, social networking publishers and developers, pioneering social media leaders, top agencies, content producers, and more.

• Full workshop program within exhibition area
• Evening networking reception
• Pre-show online meeting planner for delegates
• Free pass for exhibition only

7 – 9 April 2010: Sydney, Australia

ConnectNow

ConnectNow brings together international specialists and thought leaders in social media, emerging technologies and their intersection with business. Learn how the realtime web, location based services, augmented reality, ubiquitous computing and personalised services are changing marketing and communications. Understand the importance of trust in relationship marketing and what is “social currency”. For more info email [email protected].

11 May 2010: San Francisco, California

FinovateSpring

FinovateSpring 2010 will again showcase the most cutting-edge financial and banking technology innovations to Silicon Valley and the world. With Finovate’s signature mix of short, fast-paced onstage demos (no slides are allowed) from handpicked companies and intimate networking time with their executives, this conference packs a ton of unique value into a single day.

Come see the cutting edge of banking and financial technology and network with hundreds of the leading financial executives, venture capitalists, press, industry analysts, bloggers and fintech entrepreneurs. Early bird registration rates are available.

5 October 2010: New York City

FinovateFall

FinovateFall will return to Manhattan on Tuesday, October 5 to showcase dozens of the biggest and most innovative new ideas in financial and banking technology from established leaders and hot young companies. The Fall event is the original and largest Finovate and features a single day packed with our special blend of short, fast-paced onstage demos (no slides are allowed) and intimate networking time with top executives from the innovative demoing companies.

FinovateFall is a unique chance to see the future of finance and banking before your competition and find the edge you need in today’s market. Early bird registration rates are available.

Download this entire events calendar in iCal format.

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Once an Apple (AAPL) engineer, Andy Rubin went on to co-found mobile computing outfits Danger Inc. and Android, Inc. He sold the former to Microsoft (MSFT) and the latter to Google (GOOG), where he is now now vice president of engineering. He’s also the guy quarterbacking development of the company’s Android mobile operating system and the Nexus One–the smartphone with which Google hopes to fundamentally change the way people buy cellphones.

In conversation with All Things Digital’s Walt Mossberg today, Rubin talked about the advent of a new breed of “superphones” and Google’s vision for the way phones should be bought and sold.

Walt starts off by asking Rubin about just how involved Google was in the development of Nexus One.

Rubin replies, “We threw out crazy ideas to our partners at HTC and they were pretty good about plucking the good ones out of the air and building them into the device.”

Walt asks about the new business model Google’s launched in concert with Nexus One. Was this something the company planned all along?

“This is the next phase of Android–taking the newest versions of the product, placing them online and allowing consumers to purchase them directly,” says Rubin. “What we’ve learned is that there are more efficient ways of connecting consumers with the phones they’d like to purchase…easier ways.” Purchasing a Nexus One through Google, says Rubin, is a casual process. “No one’s breathing down your neck,” he says. “No one’s trying to upsell you.”

Nexus One is aimed at consumers who love their Google services and live in the “Google world,” Walt notes. Yet, Google is encouraging developers to build new apps for Android and Nexus One. How do you reconcile that? Isn’t there something contradictory to saying “we’re an app platform, we’re open,” and then turning around and saying “we’re really a platform for people who love Google?”

Rubin obviously doesn’t think so. He stresses that an OS can’t be successful unless people are developing for it. “It reminds me of the accessory business,” he says. “The most successful phones have the most earbuds, car chargers, etc.”

Walt wonders if Rubin is at all surprised by the size of the apps revolution, by the fact that there are 100,000-plus apps in the iTunes Apps Store.

“I’m not surprised by it at all. This is what happens when you drop the barriers to entry,” he says, recalling how difficult it once was for developers to distribute their apps and how easy it is today.

This new purchasing model Google has created for the Nexus One puts the company at the center of the experience. People who purchase the Nexus One think of themselves as Google customers. Rubin says, “What we’ve done here is to offer a mobile platform where people don’t have to worry about the plumbing.”

In his interview with Kara Swisher earlier, Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein–a former Apple engineer–said, “I don’t have an iPhone. I’ve never even used one.” In contrast, for those who may be wondering, Andy Rubin says he does use an iPhone. “What do you expect? I’m a gadget guy.”

More Posts and Articles from CES

• CES Full Coverage on AllThingsD.com
• Netflix CEO Reed Hastings interview with Peter Kafka
• Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein interview with Kara Swisher

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The digital video revolution may be hastening the DVD to its end, but there’s quite a bit of life left in the old format–according to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, anyway. During a wide-ranging onstage interview with All Things Digital’s Peter Kafka, Hastings discussed the future of the DVD, the deal Netflix cut with Warner Bros. earlier this week, which will delay rentals of the studio’s films until 28 days after their DVD release, and Comcast’s proposal to acquire a controlling stake of NBC Universal, a move that could affect Netflix’s (NFLX) “Watch Instantly” streaming service.

“When we first started years ago, we were literally going down to Best Buy and buying a bunch of DVDs and renting them,” Hastings says, reflecting on the Warner Bros. deal. He notes that Netflix is getting a better deal on DVD prices as a result of its pact with the studio.

“But what do the customers get out of the deal?” asks Peter. More streaming content, says Hastings.

“You’ve said before that you feel you’re evolving into a streaming business,” Peter says. How quickly is that transition progressing?

“Well, now we’re a DVD rental business that streams some movies,” Hastings replies. “Pretty soon we’re going to be a streaming business that rents some DVDs.”

When do you think you’ll get to the point where you’re no longer shipping DVDs to your customers? 2030, says Hastings, another 20 years.

Peter: Are you in the market for HBO or a premium channel?

Hastings: Not yet. We’re still growing our subscriber base, growing our content.

Any interest in getting into the sports business?

We’re movie-centric, with some TV. Other companies can focus on sports and news.

You’re on 100 devices. What’s the most popular?

Hastings: Videogame consoles, Blu-ray; we’d like to be on all of the videogame consoles.

How hard were you hit by the recession?

All of the subscription entertainment businesses were hit pretty hard. It’s coming back.

What number of subscribers are idiots like me and pay full price to watch two videos a month?

Not many, says Hastings.

What’s the comparison between, say, Blu-ray subscribers and streaming subscribers?

Streaming is a rocketship. Blu-ray is not, but it may get there.

You’ve put up a document called “How to run your company the Netflix way.” It says companies should offer unlimited vacation.

It’s written as an internal document for candidates. Other companies have definitely thought it’s dangerous. They can do what they want with it.

How much vacation do you take?

Hastings: Weeks and weeks.

Peter: Awesome.

Well, part of the time you’re on vacation you’re thinking about work. Some of our most productive people aren’t in the office that much. It’s about how much you get done.

Are you threatened by what Hulu or Comcast (CMCSA) might put together?

Any time a competitor doubles in size, that’s capitalism, but not good for us. We’re movie-centric, and commercial-free. We license a lot of content. As we get more subscribers, we can write bigger checks to license more content.

We’re about three things right now: Expanding the platform, expanding the content and expanding the user interface, making it better and better.

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