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Free realm transfers (EU only)
Thundgot, the undead European CM, announced today that there are a few free character transfers amongst realms that will be starting today, and go through March 25th.You can move from Al'Akir, Frostmane, Grim Batol, Outland, or Twilight's Hammer over to Burning Steppes or Spinebreaker. Of course, this only for all our European readers. No U.S. realms are current open for free transfers.If you want to take advantage of this, do so quickly! They often close down these transfers early when they meet their internal goals.Enjoy your new realm!
Norway's Get cable provider fetching Voom HD networks
Shortly after hearing that a FTTH network was on its way to Norway, a cable provider (Get) in the nation has just landed a carriage agreement that will bring Voom HD networks onto its lineup of high-definition channels. Granted, this isn't the first time the Voom channels have surfaced in the Nordic and Baltic regions, but when it launches on Get later this month, it will be a first on this particular carrier. Interestingly, there was no mention of rate changes associated with the newcomers, so here's to hoping users in the area are in fact gifted with these gratis.
Canal Digitaal gears up to launch its first HD channels in Dutch market
As the European HD changes continue to roll out, along comes news that Canal Digitaal is getting set to launch its first HD channels in the Dutch market. Details are fairly scarce at the moment, but we are hearing that National Geographic HD and Discovery Channel HD will indeed be landing in April, and negotiations are still ongoing to throw Dutch Classic Music Channel BravaHDTV into that mix. Reportedly, the HD tier will cost a stiff €9.95 ($15) per month after the first free month that's provided to all that wish to accept, but here's to hoping that becomes a bargain as more channels are added in.[Thanks, Richard]
Eurosport going HD on May 25
Not quite two years after we wondered when HDTV would ever make its way across the pond -- and not even two weeks since we found that barely 5-percent of European HDTV owners even watch HD programming -- along comes news that yet another channel is slated to go high-def in Europe. And for what it's worth, we've all ideas this one will get some attention. Eurosport is getting set to launch an HD simulcast channel on May 25th, just in time for the start of the French Open-Roland Garros tennis Grand Slam. Additionally, viewers can count on seeing content from the Tour de France and the Beijing Olympics, and for folks stuck watching SD, at least that version will be morphing from 4:3 to 16:9. As of now, carriage agreements have been landed on "platforms in Israel, Turkey, Portugal and the Nordic countries, where Canal Digital will deliver the channel."
European LotRO dev chat moves to Wednesday, changes host
The Lord of the Rings Online Europe team have announced that they will be switching up the host of their regular developer chats, and moving the day to the last Wednesday of each month. The QuakeNET IRC servers that they have used until now have given them issues in the past, so the decision was made to move to the Stratics IRC channel, which already plays host to the US LotRO dev chats.The first chat on Stratics IRC will take place this Wednesday, 27th February, from 8PM until 9PM GMT. If you've never used IRC before, Stratics has an FAQ to help you get started, or for those who just need the new details: irc.glowfish.de EU - Germany 6667 6668 stratics.frws.com USA - Colorado 6667 6668 7000 stratics.afraidyet.net USA - Texas 6667 6668 irc.gamers-irc.org USA - Colorado 6667 6668 7000 The room the LOTRO chat will take place in is #straticshoc
Panasonic's DMP-BD50 Blu-ray player gets spec'd, "released" in Europe
Well, would you look at this. According to an atypically short blurb on Panasonic's own website, the elusive DMP-BD50 that we peeked briefly at CES has been "released on the European market." Sadly, we're still left to wonder about the price, but the website does dish out a whole slew of specifications. Granted, there's not anything out of the ordinary: BD-Live, UniPhier chip, Deep Color compatibility, 1080p24 playback, Dolby TrueHD / DTS-HD support, VIERA Link, DivX support, SD expansion slot and an Ethernet jack. The site does warn, however, that these specs are valid "on the European model only," but we don't imagine the US edition being all that different. Now, if anyone across the pond actually finds one for sale, do us all a favor and holler, cool?[Thanks, Eric R.]
Bornakk announces region free test servers
Bornakk announced last night that we can expect what could be a fun change for this and future PTRs: the US, Korean, and EU servers will share test realms. We might speculate that this could be delaying the release of the PTRs despite the fact that we have the notes and the patch in hand, though it is, of course, possible that it's the problems with the live servers right now as well. Regardless, it'll be interesting to see how this changes the test dynamic as testing goes forward. There's been some questions in the past over which region's raid groups are better, so it might be fun to see if they decide to duke it out over the new Sunwell content face-to-face. It might be fun to see if some multi-region arena tourneys get set up as well. Even on the casual side, some of us have overseas internet friends who play on different servers than us by necessity, so it should be great to meet up with them and kill a few monsters or do a few dailies together. Of course, before we get to see if anything fun comes out of this, we'll have to make it on the PTRs. We'll be sure to tell you as soon as we see them up and running!
Free character migration on EU realms
Some free character transfers going down today for you EU players:From: Crushridge, Grim Batol, Outland, and StormscaleTo: Burning Steppes, Jadenar, and Vek'nilashMore info on transferring your character, if you need it, is over on Blizzard's FAQ. Color me a little jealous-- despite all the alts I have on all those different servers, not one has ever been offered a free transfer. Then again, I've never really had a reason to switch servers, so I guess it all evens out. But if you've been having queue trouble on any of the realms above and nothing to tie you down, congrats-- today's your lucky day.
Codemasters announce "Connect 2008", MMORPG event for Europeans
Codemasters Online are the European distributors of quite a number of MMOs, including Lord of the Rings Online, Dungeons and Dragons Online, RF Online, and ArchLord. These games and more will feature at a brand new community event hosted by Codemasters in the UK called "Connect 2008", as revealed on LotRO's European site today.The event will span 2 days, from the 14th to the 15th of March this year, and there will be 400 networked PCs to play Codemasters' current and future games, including some that they say are as-of-yet unannounced. There will of course be some gaming swag for attendees, and the chance to talk with some of the people behind the games -- not to mention meeting other people from your game's community.You will be required to purchase a ticket for the event (although they aren't on sale yet) and there is apparently going to be a fairly limited supply. If a trip to England sounds like your cup of tea, then you'll want to keep checking the official Connect 2008 website for updated ticketing info -- or simply to watch the giant countdown clock -- and you can also sign up to a newsletter to stay on top of the latest word. Or, if you want to get really involved, they have even set up Myspace and Facebook profiles.
DVB-SH mobile TV trials to crank up in Italy
Though it once appeared as if DVB-SH was headed for high times in Europe, DVB-H eventually won out as the nationwide standard, but that certainly doesn't mean other standards can't compete within the region. Reportedly, Alcatel-Lucent has agreed to launch the first trial of the technology in Italy with RAI and 3 Italia, and while DVB-SH would likely be more costly to implement due to its position in the spectrum, European telecoms are grasping for options to satisfy the growing desire for mobile TV. If all goes as planned, the trials will take place in Turin over the next few months, but it wasn't clear when Jane / John Doe would be called in to participate. Also of note, a cellphone provider has yet to be selected, but it sounds like Samsung and Sagem both made it onto the short list. [Via mocoNews]
Naked troll throws a party to hit 70
Gutrot, who has earned some acclaim for leveling an entirely naked Troll Warrior (no armor, no weapons, no nothing) has almost finished his quest, and he's throwing a party on his server, EU Aerie Peak, so everyone can watch.He's going to hit level 70 on Saturday night at Sen'jin Beach just outside the Orc and Troll starter area (not sure how he's going to level up there, but I guess he's got plans), and he's inviting everyone on the EU realms to come over, roll a naked troll of their own, and celebrate with him. Sounds like a lot of fun-- I can't make it, as I'm in the US, but it definitely seems like a good time to hang out as a bunch of naked trolls, not to mention that making it all the way to 70 naked and unarmed is quite an achievement.Things are set to kick off at 9:30 pm UK time-- if you head over, take lots of pictures, and send us the galleries. A bunch of naked trolls is something I've got to see.Thanks, Centipede!
UK town demonstrates driverless car
We've seen a number of driverless vehicles in our day, but we're still not entirely confident with hopping in one and hoping for the best. Nevertheless, the oh-so-independent CyberCar is being demonstrated in a Northamptonshire town, reportedly utilizing " lasers to avoid obstacles" as it rolls about. Apparently, the idea is to "increase the use of public transport and reduce reliance on cars," as the vehicle is only designed for "short trips at low speeds in an urban environment." The installation will remain in operation until October 5th, after which the future of these wee whips is seemingly still up in the air.
LG's LN800 navigator headed to Europe?
LG's LN800, which is already available in certain locales such as Australia, is reportedly headed to Europe. Word on the street claims that this LN700 successor will feature a four-inch 320 x 240 resolution display, a SiRFstarIII GPS chipset, NAVTEQ maps, a 276MHz Centrality Atlas 2 processor, 64MB of RAM, an SD expansion slot, integrated speaker, three hours of battery life, text-to-speech, and a built-in image viewer / audio player. Additionally, the LN800T (which includes a RDS-TMC traffic receiver) should land right alongside its lesser-spec'd sibling later this month, and while the LN800 can purportedly be had for €200 ($277), the LN800T will require €100 ($139) more. Click on for a shot of the back.
Is this Orange's French iPhone?
As we quickly approach Apple's "mums the word" event in London, the reports have been flying in concerning all sorts of carriers rocking the iPhone in the very near future. Now, we've got France's Orange joining O2's supposed UK deal and Germany's Vodafone / T-Mobile juggle. The rumors are saying we can expect a €300 French iPhone (sans 3G and unlimited data plans) on November 29th, with an announcement during the Apple Expo in Paris on September 24th, though the picture we're seeing clearly shows the blurry-as-all-get-out phone touting the T-Mobile carrier name. They say it's roaming, we say; don't sign anything yet.[Via TechCrunch]
Samsung's SGH-F700 gets (really) official on Vodafone
Those paying attention should know full well by now that Samsung's SGH-F700 (you know, the Croix) is set to make everyone not a Vodafone customer uber-envious here soon, but just in case you missed it, Sammy is making sure you're up to speed. The handset will boast a three-megapixel camera, a 3.2-inch 432 x 240 resolution touchscreen, QWERTY keypad, Bluetooth 2.0, USB, a microSD expansion slot, HSDPA, and an integrated media player that handles H.263 / H.264, MP3, and AAC formats. We know what you're really after, so check out a bit more eye candy after the jump.
iPhone for T-Mobile Germany announcement on the way?
Ever since (and perhaps before) the iPhone hit the US market, we've been hearing rumors of an imminent European release, which was confirmed by the company many, many months ago. Of course, there's been no movement besides rampant speculation and high-school style gossiping... but that may all be changing. According to the ridiculously-respected Reuters in an article published today, the German telephone giant Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile to you and me), has inked a deal with Apple to release the iPhone in the Fatherland (AKA Germany), with an official announcement to be made next week. The report (which is still considered rumor) claims that the phones will go on sale for the initial price of €399 ($554), and that Apple and T-Mobile will split voice and data revenue generated by the phones. Additionally, Reuters says that Apple will make similar arrangements with O2 for the UK, and Orange in France. If this news is accurate, it all but squashes the Vodafone deal rumors, but still leaves questions as to whether Apple will introduce a 3G version of the iPhone when it makes its announcements. Only El-Jobso knows for sure.
Prestigio unveils GeoVision 350 navigator for Europe
Those looking to ditch the u-turn blues in Europe now have yet another option in the oh-so-crowded 3.5-inch GPS market, as Prestigio has just unveiled its GeoVision 350. Specs wise, you'll find a SiRFstarIII chipset, a 320 x 240 resolution touchscreen, 300MHz Intel CPU, 1GB of built-in storage, Windows CE 4.2, and a rechargeable Li-ion that promises three hours of life on a full charge. The device ships with maps of "Western / Eastern Europe and Russia," provides voice guidance in 26 languages, touts USB connectivity, and comes bundled with all the necessary mounting hardware, too. Unfortunately, there's no word yet on pricing or availability.
Navman's S70 navigation system surfaces
Judging by a product page over at Amazon, it looks like the S70 from Navman has not only been launched, but it's ready to ship to eager European customers. The 4.3-inch widescreen GPS includes pre-installed maps of Western Europe, integrated Bluetooth, handsfree capabilities, optional traffic information, and the obligatory charging / in-car mounting hardware. Not a bad lookin' navigator for £199.99 ($406), and if you need more proof, click on for one more angle.[Via NaviGadget]
Toshiba showcases uber-slim external HD DVD burner
If a couple of new HD DVD players weren't enough for you, Toshiba is also launching an ultrathin, highly portable HD DVD burner for playing back high-definition flicks and writing massive amounts of data to single or dual-layer HD DVD-Rs whilst on the go. The simply titled HD DVD-Writer is reportedly the brother of the HD DVD Super-Multi, which only supports CD, DVD+/-RW, and HD DVD-ROM. Both units supposedly measure in at just 5.04- x 4.96- x 0.51-inches and weigh 5.82 ounces, and best of all, they're said to be available right now across the pond for £200 ($403).[Thanks, nfinity]
Toshiba announces HD-EP30 / HD-EP35 HD DVD players for Europe
While there's certainly been quite a few new Blu-ray players to emerge from IFA, Toshiba is making sure the HD DVD faithful (at least those in Europe) aren't slighted by launching a new duo for that crowd. The standalone HD-EP30 and HD-EP35 players will both tout "REGZA-Link (HDMI, CEC-Link) connectivity and native 24 frames per second playback support," and moreover, the HD-EP35 also supports High Bit Rate Audio and Deep Color via HDMI. Additionally, both October-bound units play nice with Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD, and DTS HD formats, and while the lower-end iteration is set to launch between €349 ($477) and €399 ($545), the EP35 will demand between €449 ($613) and €499 ($682).[Via TechDigest]
