Author: matt buchanan

Amazon MP3 Store has a promotion called Daily Deal, where they prominently highlight an album that’ll rake in sales for cheap—in exchange, labels have been giving them a one-day exclusive before the street date. Surprise, iTunes got pissed.

For example, Amazon sold Mariah Carey’s “Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel” for $6 and Vampire Weekend’s “Contra” for $4, both a day before the street date in a Daily Deal promo. So, after telling labels it wasn’t the wisest move to give Amazon any kind of exclusive window over iTunes, iTunes has apparently been pulling marketing support for music featured in Amazon’s Daily Deals. Acording to Billboard, record labels Capitol and Jive backed out of Amazon Daily Deal promos they were considering for artists like Ke$ha, and Hollywood Records turned down Amazon’s offer entirely to do a Daily Deal on Nick Jonas’ new album, as result.

Amazon and Apple have been fighting it out over music for years—Amazon beat iTunes to being DRM-free, largely because labels feared iTunes’ massive influence over the industry, given the iPod’s 70 percent marketshare. So, they hoped to build up a credible threat in Amazon (which is why it’s not entirely surprising to see them still give Amazon some favorable treatment, since it’s essentially the MP3 store the labels built). Now with books in the content mix, it’s even more tense. Though when it comes to publishing, the shoe’s on the other foot: The publishers are flocking to Apple because they’re afraid of Amazon, who commands between 80 and 90 percent of the ebook market.

Admittedly, part of the reason I hope Amazon eventually does buy Netflix is to make the fight over content even bloodier, like a proper gladiatorial deathmatch. [Billboard via Techmeme]

I dunno, their Twitter account seems real sad or something, like it could use a hug. [Twitter]

Here’s a real interesting question from a recent Netflix survey: “How likely would you or someone in your household be to instantly watch movies & TV episodes on your iPhone via a Wi-Fi network?”

If you recall, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings promised that Netflix streaming would come to the iPhone “eventually” just a few months ago. While survey questions can be indicative of a company’s plans—it wouldn’t be the first time for this kind of company to tip their video hand via survey—I wouldn’t get too excited. Not because of the tech, which is trivial (even considering the jump from Microsoft’s Silverlight technology on the desktop) but because of the rights.

Netflix has already run into issues with studios afraid of it massing too much influence, too many eyeballs, squeezing the lifeblood remaining in DVD profits preserved by the window system—the journey a movie takes from the multiplex to DVD to PPV to HBO to cable— before the studios can extract the last final drops themselves. That disgusting 28-day window before you can rent a new Warner Bros. movie is a primo example. So, to get mobile streaming rights? That’s probably a whole ‘nother ballgame, and I don’t expect the studios will play any nicer.

But we can dream, we can hope, we can pray. Even if it is only over Wi-Fi. [Hacking Netflix via SAI]

It’s too early for trance for this mellow (mmm, bed…sleeeeeep) but the 3D models of iconic Apple products from the Newton to the OG iBook to iPad are genuinely delicioso enough to keep your eyes open for. Then sleep. [Recombu]

Steelseries’ 6Gv2 is no frills version of the clacky, all-mechanical, all-tank 7G gaming keyboard, with complete anti-ghosting (you can press many as keys as there on the keyboard simultaneously).

What you lose versus the 7G to cut the price to $100 is the wrist rest (eh), along with my two favorite features, honestly—two built-in USB ports and audio jacks, which I think are pretty much worth the extra $50 to step up to the 7G, for convenience alone. Amazon’s got it now for pre-sale.

STEELSERIES INTRODUCES NEW MECHANICAL GAMING KEYBOARD THE 6Gv2
Modeled After the Award-Winning SteelSeries 7G, The New 6Gv2 is the Straight to the Point Gaming Keyboard Option

HANOVER – March 2, 2010 – SteelSeries, the leading manufacturer of gaming peripherals and accessories, today, during CeBIT in Hanover, Germany, introduced the SteelSeries 6Gv2 keyboard. Designed with 18-karat gold-plated mechanical switches, the keyboard offers quicker reaction times and advanced key combinations for more Actions Per Minute and a lifetime more than 10 times that of conventional keyboards.

Like the SteelSeries 7G, the new keyboard utilizes a powerful buffer-system created specifically for gaming, supporting as many simultaneous key presses as there are keys on the keyboard. The “anti-ghosting” feature allows users in first person shooter games to move, crouch, aim, fire and even check the scoreboard, simultaneously. The SteelSeries G product line is the only series of keyboards on the market that allows this type of functionality all at once.

“We’ve been watching professional teams such as Fnatic, SK Gaming, Evil Geniuses and others win grand slam tournaments with the 7G as their weapon of choice and have seen it recognized as one of the most impressive performance keyboards on the gaming market. Keeping that rockstar mentality, we designed the slimmed down SteelSeries 6Gv2 to pack the same punch without compromising response time, durability or performance.” said Bruce Hawver, SteelSeries CEO.

The new keyboard will incorporate SteelSeries’ Media Controls allowing quick access to volume, mute and other audio controls. Features not present in the keyboard, compared to the SteelSeries 7G, are the audio ports for headphone-in and microphone-out, the two USB ports as well as the removable plastic handrest.

The mechanical tactile system is ergonomically designed to ensure ease-of-use, while the no-click switches and iron-infused plastic makes SteelSeries G Series of keyboards both comfortable and durable. The SteelSeries 6Gv2 also has a switch lifetime of 50 million operations, which is more than 10 times the lifespan of a typical “membrane” keyboard known for a maximum of only 1-5 million total keystrokes in a lifetime.

The SteelSeries 6Gv2 Keyboard is available now for pre-sale at Amazon.com for an MSRP of $99.99 USD.

[SteelSeries]

The DVE Immersion room might well be the most impressive holographic telepresence setup for sharing 3D Powerpoint presentations ever (better than anything you could buy), but their promo video feels like it was produced by OCP in Robocop.

The idea, as you can see in the video, is that you’re not trapped in a tube like traditional telepresence setups. As for technical specifications, what they’re offering is a full 1080p 60fps camera and display system, with room for 8 people on each side of a call. But I really can’t get over the video, which should only be aired after 2am on select cable channels. [DVE via TelepresenceOptions]

Today kicks off the bi-hourly shutdowns for anybody still running their free copy of Windows 7 Release Candidate, which will continue until June 1, when the seizures turn the OS into straight crippleware. (Or more specifically, your copy of Windows is marked as non-geniune, locking you out of any feature that requires a legit version of Windows.) [Windows Blog via All About Microsoft]

One of the more straightforward acquisitions Google’s made in a while, they’ve just bought the online image editor Picnick. Given Google’s past acquisition strategy—turning Grand Central into Google Voice, Writely into Google Docs—the logical expectation is that it’ll get merged into its already excellent Picasa photo managing app. [Picnick]

After years of Mini DVI and Mini DisplayPort, will Apple really give us HDMI? A bucketful of rumors from AppleInisider say HDMI is replacing DVI in the next Mac minis, and reveals a long lost audio/video Mini DisplayPort adapter.

The new Mac mini, according to AppleInsider, will ditch its old DVI port for HDMI, which’ll sit next to the Mini DP port. The reason Apple’s interested in HDMI is that it delivers audio along with video over a single port, unlike the current MiniDP spec. The catch, though, is that these new Mac minis use Nvidia’s MCP89 chipset, meaning they’ll likely be Core 2 Duo machines still—not yet getting the upgrade to Core i3/i5/i7.

In terms of other Macs, the audio/video problem still exists, so what Apple had cooked up to go with those Blu-ray players that never happened in the latest iMacs is a proprietary DisplayPort-to-HDMI adapter that carried audio and video through a customized Mini DisplayPort. We might see this revised Mini DP port in the next MacBook revision though, and the adapter that goes with it.

The updated Mini DisplayPort with audio sounds like the most logical option for Apple, rather than backtracking to HDMI after purposely shunning it. Just give me one port that carries both audio and video—I don’t care what you call it—and some way to plug it into another display or plug other stuff into the Mac, and I’ll be happy. [AppleInsider]

An analyst is reporting that “an unspecified production problem at the iPad’s manufacturer, Hon Hai Precision, will likely limit the launch region to the US and the number of units available to roughly 300K.”

Analysts make poofy, speculative claims that we ignore all the time, but Canccord Adams’ Peter Misek here is reporting that there is an actual “unspecified production problem” happening at Foxconn (the prettier name for Taiwanese manufacturer Hon Hai Precision) resulting in a “manufacturing bottleneck.” Of course, it’s possible he’s still wrong, and a million iPads will flow freely later this month (ooo, is it March already?).

But a high-demand, low-supply launch wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world either. It certainly wouldn’t be unprecedented; Christ knows, Amazon and Nintendo that strategy milked it for years. [AppleInsider]

The silicon inside 90 percent of ereaders out there is made by Freescale, and their new chip, the i.MX508—based on a ARM Cortex A8 (sorta like the iPad!)—will make them cheaper, and page turns 4x faster.

The chip’s a custom SoC that integrates the functions from multiple chips into one—specifically, the E-Ink hardware display controller—along with that Cortex A8, which gives the readers enough juice to turn pages in half a second, versus the two seconds that’s typical now. As the first chip expressly designed for ereaders, it also strips out unnecessary features, so the net result for the ereader is that it’s $30 cheaper a unit. Freescale wagers that with the cost savings, it could drive ereaders to under $150 by the end of the year. (Though that in part depends on how much the E-Ink displays themselves are going to continue to cost.)

An E-Ink reader that costs $150 would definitely look more attractive as a dedicated long-reading device against an iPad that does lots of things on top of reading—and has those fancy digital magazines—than the ones that more like $260 today. Then again, Amazon’s working on a full-color multitouch Kindle with Wi-Fi, if that tells you anything about the future of E-Ink readers. In the meantime, I’m all for cheaper. [Freescale via Bloomberg via Digital Daily]

Sports Illustrated photographer David Klutho is wielding two Nikon D700s bolted together like a double-neck guitar at the Olympics, except his rig is designed to take 3D photos, not bust out sweet guitar solos. [Russ Beinder/Flickr]

Ebooks negate the most obvious costs of hardcover books: No dead trees, ink, warehouse or shelf storage, so of course they’re cheaper. In fact, isn’t $12.99 for an ebook just a little bit pricey? Wellll, the NYT breaks it down.

Here’s a chart using the data Motoko Rich has dug up, reflecting the average cost and revenue model for a hardcover book and its ebook counterpart.

Right now, publishers do make a little bit more on ebooks, but there are a few things to consider before you bring out the pitchforks demanding $5 ebooks: 1) Ebooks are currently less than 5 percent of book sales. 2) Paper booksellers can’t compete at these prices, especially indie booksellers. 3) There is no equivalent paperback market with lower costs to eke out more money later in a book’s life (especially if the hardcover flops). 4) All of the publishers’ other costs, like editorial and office space, came out of that $4 or so a book. 5) Most books don’t make that much money.

The bottom line is, don’t expect publishers to give up ground on pricing or digital rights management—they want to avoid the music industry’s sad fate, since they already skate by on thin margins, and the last few years have been chaotic enough already, to say the least. [NYT]

General Manager for Microsoft’s Asia-Pacific Mobile Communications Business confirms it: There is no upgrading to Windows Phone 7, not even for the badass HD2. So! Every Windows Mobile phone out there’s officially dead in the water. [APC Mag via Techmeme]

Amazon started calling publishers before Steve Jobs had even left the stage at the iPad event, according to the NYT. They wanted to know what Apple promised them—and more importantly, what they promised Apple.

The deal Amazon’s been trying to ink with publishers for the couple months would guarantee that books on the Kindle would be the same price as on any other reader, if not, in fact, cheaper—the incentive, a bigger chunk of revenue, though Apple’s largely screwed that pooch for Amazon with their own offering, which lets publishers set their own prices, which what publishers are really after: Control. (Though Apple might have more control than expected.)

One of the tidbits with larger implications is that some publishers are running on a month-to-month contract basis with Amazon, instead of a full-blown multi-year agreement, meaning they actually have plenty of room to maneuver in negotiations, especially with Apple at their back. What some publishers might do, they told Bits, is sign the Amazon contract now, and just push a limited free app on the iPad, then switching to a full-blown paid model whenever Amazon’s Kindle Touch arrives.

‘Cause that’ll make thing simple. [Bits]

Microsoft’s not being real forthcoming about what exactly Windows Phone Starter is. But! It seems to be a very mildly stripped version of Windows Mobile 6.5 (officially aka “Windows Phone Classic”) for developing countries, much like Windows Starter.

Microsoft wouldn’t specifically elaborate on what’s missing from 6.5 in Starter 6—just saying it comes in two versions, with Office Mobile 2010 and without—but it’s possible, given the language they used that it won’t be available for 3G phones. (I know, WTF?) Luckily, it’s nothing most people will have to worry about. Just stick with Win7 Phone, and pretend like all this version craziness doesn’t even exist. That’s one of the bright sides of Windows Phone 7—there’s just one. [All About Microsoft via Unwired via Engadget]

A $5000 camera is not within reach for most people. So this Nikon D3s review is a bit different—it’s a peek at the near future of photography where shooting in any lighting condition is possible. It’s really exciting.

ISO Is the New Megapixel: A Case Study

Nikon effectively declared the pixel war over with D3 two years ago: Its $5000 flagship shot a mere 12 megapixels—less than many point-and-shoots—and began the low-light arms race. The D3s again forsakes more megapixels for more light, sticking with 12 megapixels, and it’s a tiny miracle of engineering.

The D3s isn’t a thoughtless product rehash—as you might expect given that Nikon’s simply tacked an ‘s’ onto the end of the D3. Unlike the D300s, which didn’t progress all that far in the two interceding years, the D3s is steady evolution at its best: It offers roughly double the low-light performance as the original D3.

What All This Low Light and ISO Business Means

A brief explanation of low-light digital photography and ISO is in order (click here for the long explanation). The focal point of engineering with the D3s, and other cameras of this caliber, has been boosting their ability to pick up more light (because a photo = light). That photo directly above with a 100 percent crop in the loupe? Taken at night at ISO 102,400.

The D3s uses a completely new sensor that refines elements of the original D3’s sensor, like a new gapless microlens architecture that directs more available light onto the sensor’s photodiodes. With film, ISO speed is a standard that indicates how sensitive the film is to light—higher speeds are more sensitive. With digital cameras, when you set the ISO speed, it’s supposed to be equivalent to the film standard. In low-light conditions, you boost the ISO, so you don’t need a long exposure time or wide open aperture. The problem with cranking up the ISO is that when you boost the camera’s sensitivity to light (the signal) you’re also boosting its sensitivity to noise—which can be sexy with film, but isn’t really with digital photos. The D3s shoots up ISO 102,400, far beyond any film you could buy at Walgreen’s. (Does Walgreen’s still sell film?) At that level, you’re talking night vision, practically, though the resulting noisy ass photo’s nothing you’d want to print.

So, here’s what the D3s offers, practically. In the most common DSLRs that people own, or with the latest crop of Micro Four Thirds cameras, the borderline for what we’d call good ISO performance is around ISO 800. In the original D3, it was ISO 3200, orders of magnitude better.

The D3s doubles the low-light performance of the D3: ISO 6400 photos look just about as clean ISO 3200 photos taken with the D3 (they look good), and ISO 3200 photos are whistle clean to all but the most trained eye, especially if they’re down-res’d to web or print size. ISO 12,800 is the new ISO 6400—the outer limit of acceptably printable. In short, the D3s is the best low-light camera we’ve ever used, a leap beyond last-generation’s low-light killers. You can basically shoot in any lighting condition. That’s incredible.

It’s Built for Photographers

The D3s is built for war zones, and being slung in the mud at 40mph. It weighs nearly 3 pounds, without a lens. Yet it’s well-balanced and supremely comfortable to hold, with the best ergonomics in its class—Canon’s 1D Mark IV feels surprisingly awkward by comparison—so we could shoot for hours on end in the closest thing to gadget blogging’s war zones, CES and the iPad launch, and slug people who got in our way. (The dual CF card slots and ginormous battery help with shooting for hours. We didn’t quite reach the 4,200 shots it’s spec’d for, but we definitely shot a couple thousand photos per charge.)

It feels like what a pro camera should feel like, with almost all of the controls you need at your fingertips—the addition of a dedicated live view button versus the original D3 definitely helped there, though a more natural way to change the ISO setting while using the camera’s vertical grip would be nice.

It is a photographer’s camera, though, to be sure. Even as it shoots a crazyfast 9 frames per second at full-resolution RAW and its 51-point autofocus proved fast and accurate for us at trade shows, Nikon continues to lag behind Canon when it comes to video, with it feeling more tacked on than any of Canon’s shooters—it’s still 720p video using the bleh Motion JPEG codec—it’s functionally better than the D300s, though, with improved autofocus in live view mode. That said, given that Nikon’s announced its first 1080p-shooting camera, we’re hopeful for the seemingly inevitable D700s on the video front, anyway.

Most of our testing took place at CES and the iPad event, which are marked by shitty and ever-changing light conditions, and we’ve never felt more comfortable shooting handheld without a flash or tripod. It’s truly liberating. Light is your bitch—you can shoot wherever, whatever you want. (Especially with a fast lens, but even “slow” lenses suddenly feel eminently more usable.) While auto white balance was never quite perfect, the pop and saturation of the D3s’s colors are just about unbeatable. It’s the ultimate gadget-shooting-in-crappy-conditions camera. Here’s some of posts we used the D3s to shoot:

• iPad Hands On
• iPad Liveblog
• Slayer Espresso
• E-Ink Is Dead, Pixel Qi Just Killed It
• Ballmer CES Keynote
• CES We’re Here

(You can also check out our previous hands on with a pre-production unit for more samples. And for a more technical review, DPReview’s got you covered.) A note: You’ll notice I don’t have a ton of sample photos, and that’s because somehow hundreds of them completely poofed from my hard drive.

The D3s doesn’t operate under any new philosophy, but it does remarkably take the game a step further, revealing with more clarity a world where camera performance doubles roughly every two years. Much like processors, where the tradeoff is more power or more efficiency, the choice is more megapixels or better performance. (But newspapers and monitors are only so big.)

We’re running through Canon’s answer to the D3s, the 1D Mark IV at this very moment, so we’re intensely interested to see who’s wearing what pants at the end of this. Either way, it shows that competition is a very good thing: Everybody wins.

The best low-light camera we’ve ever used

Fast and accurate 51-point AF to go with its 9FPS rapid fire

Solid ergonomics

Would prefer a more accessible ISO button

There’s still a major disconnect with video, which lags behind Canon quality and otherwise

It’s $5000, so this amazing low-light performance is out of reach for most people for a few more years (not really a knock against the camera, just a general frowny face)

[Nikon]

The Wall Street Observer: “Microsoft is working on controller-free gaming technology and Sony is developing a motion controller…Are you worried?” Nintendo’s Reggie: “We do not fear any competitor.” Me: Well, that settles that. [WSJ]

Take a Linksys running custom firmware, tap into the hardware to power a circuit controlling the locks, and SSH into the router with custom iPhone and Android apps to flip the circuit. Easy, right? [Sunlight via Make via Engadget]