On October 13, 2009 Activision will be releasing a new game called Tony Hawk: Ride.  This game will have the option to buy a motion sensing skateboard.

The price of the motion sensing skateboard will cost about $119.99 and will have a built in accelerometer along with other sensors.  For all of the levels, the skateboard controller is able to detect hopping and direction changes.

What are your thoughts on the price of the controller?  As a skateboarding enthusiast slash gamer, do you think you would spend that much on to play the Tony Hawk game?

[via SlashGear]

Did Best Buy just name the regular price of the Palm Pre $850?  Because I could have sworn that Sprint is selling the device for $550 if you don’t want to be locked into a contract.  Based on these dollar amounts, here is what I recommend for you when buying the Pre.

If you want to buy the Pre and are interested in a contract, then buy it from Best Buy or Radio Shack where you can get it for $199 after $100 instant savings.  The Sprint Store sells the device for $199 after a $100 mail in rebate.

Let’s say that you want to buy the device without a contract, then I’d definitely recommend going to the Sprint Store and shelling out $550 instead of paying $850 at Best Buy.

Verizon Communications will be selling the LG Glance VX7100 for $49 on June 5th after a $50 mail in rebate and 2 year contract.  Other paid options include $119 after $50 mail in rebate and one year contract, $119 after $50 mail in rebate and prepaid plans, and $219 for full retail.

The specs of the phone include:
- CDMA with 1xRTT connectivity
- 2.00″, 320×240, 262K Color TFT display
- 1.3 megapixel camera
- GPS, VZ navigator-capable
- Bluetooth (headset, hands-free, and object push restricted)
- Texting, picture messaging, and voice messaging
- Media center, Mobile Email, Mobile web, IM, Chat, Chaperone parent/child feature, and voicemail
- Speakerphone
- Voice commands
- English/Spanish
- 2.5mm Headset jack
- Dimensions: 4.31×1.87×0.38
- Weight: 2.92 oz.
- Usage time: up to 260 minutes / standby time of 350 hours

[via BGR]

Update: Originally this article was written as the 7110, but it turns out that the phone is called the 7100.

AT&T is planning to unveil four new Nokia handsets on their network later this year.  The four phones include the Mako, Grouper, Thresher, and the Snapper.  Below are the specs of each of the new phones.

Thresher
- Platform: Same as Grouper
- Form factor: Slide
- GSM EDGE BAND: Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900
- UMTS BANDS: 850/1900/2100, HSDPA
- EDGE GPRS Class 10
- Size: 60cc
- Weight: 119g
- Dimensions: 100x48x14mm
- Display: 2.4″ 240×320, TFT, 16M
Target LE Date: June 23, 2009
Target TA Date: September 18, 2009

- Navigation & entertainment enabler
- A-GPS:SUPL and Control Plane support for AT&T Navigator
- Compass and accelerometer
- 360 degree optical joystick for navigating maps and browsing
- AT&T Address Book Native Sync
- Uplink noise cancellation
- Bluetooth 2.1 (stereo)
- Over 4 hours UMTS talk time
- Removal memory microSD and up to 140MB on board memory
- Micro USB for data/charging
- 3.2 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom and integrated flash
- Full focus (enhanced depth of focus technology)
- Music player
- MAXD submenu requirements for 3G with WM-DRM/MTP
- NB-AMR, Midi, MP3, WMA, AAC+, eAAC, MPEG-4, WAV
- 2.5 universal headset
- HAC (M3/T3), FOTA, IM/Email

Snapper
LE Date: May 18, 2009
TA Date: August 7, 2009
- GSM EDGE BAND: Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 — UMTS BANDS: 850/1900/2100, HSDPA
- awarded 1H09 RFP
- Form factor: Fold
- EDGE Class 10
- Size: 61cc
- Weight: 91g
- Dimensions: 93x47x17mm
- Display – Intenal: 2.0″, 240×320, 16M, TFT — External: 1.36″, 128×160, 262k, TFT
- Cellular video
- 4.2 hours talk time in 3G
- Kodiak PTT 5.2
- Navigation & entertainment enabler
- A-GPS:SUPL and Control Plane support for AT&T Navigator
- Bluetooth 2.1 w/A2DP and Flight Mode Support, and USB 2.0
- Removal memory microSD and up to 70MB on board memory
- 2.0 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom and integrated flash
- Music optimized
- OMA DRM/OTA + WM-DRM/MTP
- NB-AMR, Midi, MP3, WMA, AAC+, eAAC, MPEG-4, WAV
- Stereo 2.5 mm UHJ
- HAC (M3/T3), FOTA, IM/Email

Grouper
- Platform: Same as Snapper
- GSM EDGE BAND: Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 — Tri-band UMTS/HSDPA 850/1900/2100
- awarded 2H08 RFP- EDGE Class 10
- Size: 60.4cc
- Dimensions: 97x47x16mm
- Display – Intenal: 2.2″, 240×320, QVGA 16M — External: 1.36″, 128×160, hid-til-lit
- 4.2 hours talk time UMTS
- Weight: 112g
- HAC (M3/T3)
- AT&T FOTA
- Kodiak Push to Talk v5.2
- A-GPS:SUPL and Control Plane support for AT&T Navigator
- Bluetooth 2.1 w/A2DP and Flight Mode Support, and USB 2.0
- Removal memory microSD and up to 70MB on board memory
- 2.0 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom and integrated flash
- Music optimized
- OMA DRM/OTA + WM-DRM/MTP
- NB-AMR, Midi, MP3, WMA, AAC+, eAAC, MPEG-4, WAV
- Stereo 2.5 mm UHJ
- Video share calling
- Cellular video
- Messaging: Oz Email/IM

Mako
LE Date: March 16, 2009
TA Date: June 5, 2009
- awarded 1H09 RFP
- Platform: same as Tarpon and Piranha
- Form factor: slide
- Landscape: hidden keyboard
- Full QWERTY keyboard
- Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 — UMTS/HSDPA 850/1900
- EDGE Class 10
- Size 103cc
- Weight: 125g
- Dimensions: 96x54x15mm
- Display: 2.4″ 240×320, 16M, TFT
- 4 hours UMTS talk time
- A-GPS: SUPL and Control Plane support for AT&T Navigator
- Dedicated GPS key for 1 touch access
- Messaging optimized
- Automatic landscape/portrait display orientation
- Camera: 2 megapixel digital HP camera, 4x digital zoom
- Music – capable
- OMA DRM/OTA + WM-DRM/MTP
- NB-AMR, MIDI, MP3, WMA, AAC+, eAAC, eAAC+, WAV, RealAudio 10
- Media player
- Video Playback: H.263, MPEG4, H.264, RealVideo 10, WMV 9
- Video Share Calling
- AT&T Address Book (Phase 1)
- Video exchange
- Cellular video
- OSS Browser
- XHTML Internet browser
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.0 A2DP, USB 2.0
- 128MB internal memory + removable hot swappable memory
- 2.5 mm UHJ
- Integrated hands free speaker
- AT&T FOTA

[via EngadgetMobile]

TechCrunch wrote a post several months ago about whether Last.fm submitted user information to the RIAA.  Last.fm denied it.  And now a new rumor has came up about how Last.fm’s parent company CBS Corporation sent information to the RIAA by tricking Last.fm.  The trick that TechCrunch claimed took place was that CBS told Last.fm that they were planning to use the information for internal uses, but sent it to the RIAA anyway.

The source behind this whole issue is an anonymous individual that spoke directly with Last.fm employees.  However Last.fm claims that no one at the company knows anything about a leak of information.  “Any request for such data would have to be approved by myself first. The suggestion that CBS’s ops team provided this data is just not possible – Last.fm operates as a separate entity and their operations staff do not have access to our system,” stated Russ Garrett, a developer at Last.fm.

paidContent published a response that CBS has made in relation to the aforementioned controvery:
“Both CBS and the RIAA have already stated quite clearly, for the record, that absolutely no individual user or listener information was supplied to the RIAA by last.fm or any division of CBS Corporation in the past, nor do we plan to do so in the future. The story posted by the website was based on an unnamed tipster. No inquiry was made to CBS or last.fm about the veracity of the anonymous source. Those who consult such blogs should be aware of the standard by which such postings are sourced and published.”

The original source TechCrunch had for the story about Last.fm sending data to the RIAA stated that the employee that leaked the information was fired.

As the event date for WWDC is getting closer (June 8-12), there have been several hints about what to expect in terms of product changes happening at Apple.  One of the latest hints is that a Vodafone e-mail to retail staff leaked that their iPhone supplier Brighthand has only a few weeks of stock available for the iPhone 16GB phone.

This gives a hint that an iPhone with a larger hard drive will be announced soon.  Earlier this week, there was a product description for an iPhone 32GB model placed on the T-Mobile Austria website.  The next iPhone model is expected to have a digital compass, a 32GB hard drive, faster processor, a 3.2 megapixel camera, and a stronger graphics card.

Why there is an end-of-life notice in the e-mail for the 16GB and not the 8GB is a mystery.  Perhaps we may see a new 16GB model come out of Apple too.

[via SlashGear]

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) CEO Carol Bartz was in the hot seat at the AllThingsD conference earlier today and she was asked whether the company was still in talks with a search deal with Microsoft.  Bartz said that there can be a deal under three conditions.

The conditions were: “If there’s boatloads of money, and there’s the right technology, and the information we would have to have, then yeah….it’s that simple.”

While on stage Bartz also said that there won’t be anymore layoffs at Yahoo!  “We have the right people in the right seats on the bus,” stated Bartz.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has gotten around to approving an application that they found faulty before.  The application is called Eucalyptus and it is an e-book reader that sells for $9.99 [iTunes link].  The reason why the application was banned was because the Kama Sutra was one of the titles that can be downloaded out of the 20,000+ books that is offered.

Some of the features of Eucalyptus includes:
1. Natural page turning
2. Hand-picked recommendations of books to read
3. Easy search capabilities for book titles and authors
4. Organizes book titles and authors similar to how an iPod organizes songs and artists
5. Text resize with finger pinch
6. High quality fonts

The developer of the application, James Montgomerie said that Apple contacted him directly to discuss why his application was banned.  He said that Apple was very polite and complimentary.  Customer service is definitely one of Apple’s core strengths.