Faced with slumping hardware sales, both at home and overseas, Nintendo has kicked off an ambitious scheme to get a DS in the hands of every single consumer.

The headline-grabbing move was announced by company President Satoru Iwata after Nintendo's quarterly results showed the Wii in particular is starting to struggle.

Sales slump

Data show the console was down 57 per cent in Japan, 50 per cent in Europe and 38 per cent in the US in terms of units sold.

While a partly saturated market means the sales slide was broadly expected, an overall profit fall of 66 per cent was not.

McDonald's freebies

Hence, the plan to get everyone - starting with Japan - toting their own DS by marketing it as a personal device like a mobile phone, rather than something to be shared within families.

Iwata was encouraged by a promising marketing campaign in Japan that saw DS sales jump at shops near McDonald's outlets that all offer free wireless internet access and game downloads for owners of the handheld.

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Filed under: Apple Corporate, iPhone, App Store

Earlier today, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) sent out letters to Apple, AT&T and Google, readable here [FCC's letter to Apple, to AT&T & to Google] asking each company about its involvement in the Google Voice app rejections. The agency is asking Apple to explain why the Google app was rejected and the third-party apps removed, if any VoIP apps have been approved, and whether there are general rules and regulations covering application approvals (something many developers would also love to know).

It's worth noting that none of the Google Voice apps are VoIP (voice over IP) applications in the traditional sense, as they rely on the cellular carrier's voice network to handle calls, so it's not clear if the FCC understands this or if the agency is heading down a blind alley on this particular topic.

To Google, the letter asks if any other Google apps have been accepted in the store (we know there are a few), whether Apple explains the rejection process or the reasoning behind the treatment of Google Latitude, if there are other ways to use Google Voice on the iPhone (again, a somewhat naive question, as the service works fine via touchtone commands and Mobile Safari), and lastly and most intriguingly, what the app approval process is for Android applications (should be a short answer: "C'mon in, the water's fine!").

Finally, the agency is asking AT&T how the carrier was consulted on this decision, if any VoIP applications are running on their network (again, missing the point, since GV ≠ VoIP -- more relevant that there are BlackBerry apps for Google Voice that are happily on AT&T handsets), and whether AT&T can provide a list of rejected applications on the store while detailing the role it plays in approving possible 3G-enabled services like Sling.

The FCC has given the three companies until August 21 to respond to their letters; while the overall scope of the questions betrays quite a bit of agency unfamiliarity with the workings of the Google Voice service and the App Store, any movement toward openness and clear answers is positive. Hopefully, these responses will offer some insight into the story of this whole mess that has given everyone such indigestion over the past week.

[via Engadget, links to FCC via BusinessWeek]

TUAWIt's the Feds! FCC quizzes Apple, AT&T and Google about Google Voice apps originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted under Cameras, Computers, GPS Navi, Gadgets, Monitors, Notebooks, PC Accessories, Printers, Scanners, iPod

While the iPhone SMS security vulnerability has been hogging the headlines this week, it also emerged from the same conference that Mac OS X is at risk too.

Speaking at the Black Hat security event, Mac expert Dino Dai Zovi exposed an OS X coding loophole by installing a rootkit that could give hackers complete control of a Mac, allowing them to take even encrypted data from the other side of the world.

Bank accounts exposed

The 'Machiavelli' technique relies on using the Safari browser to get hold of encrypted data such as bank accounts and other personal information.

Dai Zovi explained his motivation in helping Apple work on better securing its machines, warning that hackers need only target OS X computers for general the Mac security complacency to dissolve into a serious problem.

Fairy dust

"There is no magic fairy dust protecting Macs," he pointed out, while another security expert added, "When the malware authors put out something that's really sophisticated we are going to have a whole population that is really vulnerable."

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Scosche Industries has recently unveiled its IDR350M (Increased Dynamic Range) noise isolating earphones that have an integrated remote and microphone control called tapLINE allowing users to navigate their music library, adjust the volume, record voice memos or talk on their iPhone. These earphones are also compatible with the iPod Shuffle 3G and iPhone 3G S by offering special features such as VoiceOver or Voice Control. The IDR350M headphones will be accompanied by half a dozen colored caps that consists of silver, orange, green, pink, blue or white. The IDR350M headphones are now available via Scosche’s website for $50. Scosche will also begin shipping the IDR350MD in August for the same price and with the same specs. [Product Page]

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If we ever needed evidence that Apple takes device security very seriously indeed, then it has been provided in the shape of the new iPhone firmware patch arriving even earlier than planned.

Instead of waiting to deliver OS 3.0.1 to fix a security vulnerability as promised this Saturday, Apple slipped out the update through iTunes late on Friday evening.

No one affected

The almost 300MB download repairs a vulnerability that used incoming SMS to take over control of an unpatched iPhone.

Apple not only moved to issue the update less than a day after it was made public, but also reassured iPhone users that no handsets had actually been affected yet.

Anyone wishing to apply the patch need only seek out the 'Check for Update' button in the iPhone settings page in iTunes.

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HP comes back with their largest computer LCD display known as the 2709m. This 27-inch monitor supports a 16:9 aspect ratio, a 1920×1080 Full HD resolution, a 5ms On/Off response times (typical), a 3ms Gray to Gray response times, a 400 nits brightness, a 1000:1 contrast ratio, a 30,000 dynamic contrast ratio, and a 92% color gamut. Other features include a 4-Watts speaker system, an anti-glare treatment for its display, an HDMi input, DVI and VGA connectivity. The HP 2709m is now available for around $500. [Product Page]

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BeamBox has recently introduced their new universal charger that comes with interchangeable US, UK, Australian and European plug adapters. Dubbed as the MiLi, this palm size charger also features a flip-out in-car plug and two USB ports with charge level indicating LED’s, where 5V/500mA of juice is provided to both sockets. The device works nicely with both 12-24V DC power and 100-240V AC power and for added safety, there’s also over-current and short-circuit protection. The BeamBox MiLi Universal Charger is now available for pre-order for $37. [SlashGear]

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If the suits at Sony were worried about the big losses the company reported this week, then perhaps they'll be cheered by the news that the PlayStation 3 isn't going to be a drain for much longer.

According to Chief Financial Officer Nobuyuki Oneda, the loss-leading console is now 70 per cent cheaper to build than it was when it debuted in 2007.

Costs slashed

Given that the original construction costs were around £500, that suggests the current (or, possibly, next) generation of PS3s leaving factories should cost around £150.

If the numbers are even close to accurate, it's pretty clear we're heading for a cheaper PS3 on shop shelves before very long.

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Harman has released a high-end Blu-ray player this week. Dubbed as the Lexicon BD-30, the Blu-Ray player supports for just about everything including BD-Live, BonusView, DVD, upconverted DVD, DVD-Audio, SACD, CD and USB. The BD-20 features Anchor Bay’s award-winning Video Reference Series technology for the best 1080p picture possible. Unfortunately, there is no word on pricing yet. Stay tuned for more updates. [Ubergizmo]

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In case you didn’t notice, Peter Ha was a tad upset when news broke about Fox recasting Futurama. Good news though, a deal has been reached. The original cast is returning after agreeing to the “studio paying more and the actors accepting less” according to TheStar.com. I just hope that Peter can get some sleep now. He’s been a little cranky lately.

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