Nokia 5250 phone comes with Guitar Hero
Touchscreen music-oriented device pre-loaded with face melting riffage
Nokia's new 5250 will come embedded with a free version of Guitar Hero 5 Mobile when the device is released in the fourth quarter of this year.
The firm used its blog to officially unveil the 5250, which it describes as 'a touchscreen, music-centric device aimed anyone seeking a modern, multipurpose mobile that also offers great value for money'.
Mobile Entertainment

George Lucas in $5 million 'Jedi Mind' lawsuit
Star Wars creator George Lucas is suing a gaming peripherals company called Jedi Mind Inc. that is attempting to market a gaming controller which allows gamers to control games directly with their minds. The Hollywood Reporter notes that Lucas has filed a $5 million trademark lawsuit against Jedi Mind, Inc. JediMind is currently selling three products called Master Mind, Jedi Mouse and Think Tac Toe. For its part, the peripherals manufacturer claims that its wireless headset can detect brainwaves on both a conscious and non-conscious level, letting gamers control their on-screen actions by their thoughts.
Lucas' LucasFilm production company originally sent a cease-and-desist letter to Jedi Mind back in May 2009.
Tech Radar

Vodafone reveals portable WiFi
Vodafone is launching a portable WiFi hotspot allowing users to access the internet using mobile broadband with up to five devices at once. The R201 also has enough on-board memory to store digital media such as photos, video or music files. And because it is compliant with independent Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) standards, it can link up compliant televisions, games consoles and radios as well as PCs, laptops and netbooks. The system is pitched at consumers and small businesses looking to share files on the move, Vodafone says.
The Independent

YouTube launches new mobile site
Google has launched a new mobile version of its video-sharing site, YouTube. The refreshed site is designed to offer a better video experience across mobile devices, and deliver better quality videos to viewers, faster. The new site, which is built on the HTML5 standard and accessed through the phone’s web browser, will offer an even better user experience than native mobile applications, claims Google. There are also enhanced social networking features to make it easier to share video links on Twitter, Facebook and Google Buzz.
YouTube consumption on mobile devices has grown considerably, said Google. Playbacks were up 160 per cent in 2009 over the previous year, and YouTube mobile now receives more than 100 million video playbacks a day.
The Telegraph

Tag Games gets Channel 4 apps investment
Dundee firm working on mobile outings for Come Dine With Me and Peep Show. Channel 4 has commissioned Scottish developer Tag Games to make mobile apps based on Come Dine With Me and Peep Show. The commissions are part of a £1 million investment by the broadcaster in projects with games firms in Dundee. Fellow mobile developer Dynamo Games has also won a (non-mobile) project, to create Facebook game Beauty Town based on some of Channel 4's lifestyle programmes. The investment is timely, following the recent collapse of Dundee console developer Realtime Worlds.
Mobile Entertainment

Exponential-e trials super-fast telecoms services for small business
Exponential-e, the network and applications provider has announced that it is working closely with Openreach to bring super-fast telecoms services to the small business community. The company says that laboratory trials have been concluded which have successfully demonstrated the ability to support multiple services and QoS, and the start of live trials with three customers. Exponential-e adds that it is entirely focused on servicing the needs of business customers. Unencumbered by the overheads associated with serving residential consumers, Exponential-e has always been able to pass on its lower cost base to its customers.
Mobile Business Magazine

Modern Warfare 2 UK's best-selling game of all-time
Modern Warfare 2 is now the best-selling computer game ever here in Blighty. Activision’s first-person shooter has stolen first place from the Nintendo DS’s Brain Training, having already become the fastest-selling game of all time, shifting £242.4 million worth on day one. It’s all the more impressive considering MW2 only went on sale 41 weeks ago. It’s only slipped from the top ten games roster in three of those weeks, and currently sits at number 18. Plans for a Modern Warfare 2 follow up are already being talked up, with studio Infinity Ward plotting a sequel for 2011. In the meantime, Call of Duty: Black Ops lands on 9th November, with a further COD title in the offing too.
T3

App downloads to overtake voice call revenue
Mobile networks will earn more cash from app downloads than they do from voice calls by 2013 according to a recent survey of industry professionals.37 per cent of those surveyed by the Economist Intelligence Unit reckon that apps will provide the main source of revenue for the likes of Orange and O2, while 36 per cent still reckon voice calls will bring in the most wonga. 39 per cent also felt that the networks should rely on third party app developers to push forward innovation, while 80 per cent reckon that open source app stores like the Android Market is the best way to go.The survey also showed that networks want to bring an end to flat rate tariffs as mobile data consumption continues to soar. So, in Europe and the US, unlimited all-you-can eat internet could soon be a thing of the past.
T3

Google's live search results is just a test
Google has responded to the video of one of its search experiments, which shows results appear as a person types, insisting it is just one of a number of trials. An unofficial video has surfaced that shows what appears to be the next step in Google Suggest but rather than offering you what you might be searching for as you type this actually shows you the likely results. But Google has quickly moved to say that this is just one of a number of experiments going on, and consumers should not necessarily expect this to be a change rolled into Google's main search engine.
Tech Radar

Monster announces 'world's first universal 3D eyewear'
Monster has announced what it is calling the world's first universal 3D eyewear "shutter system" claiming it will work with all brands of 3D televisions. The AV accessories specialist insists that the Monster Vision Max 3D range is the "world's first and only universal wireless 3D eyewear "shutter system. "Monster's exclusive Active 3D eyewear system is the only RF Shutter system that will work with all brands of 3D HDTVs, allowing users to experience a new level of power and 3-Dimensional visual immersion while watching Blu-ray movies or playing advanced video games," explains Monster.
Tech Radar