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Nintendo rolls a 3DS Demo Pod across US, gets gamers salivating for March 27th launch
The perks of living in a big city, eh? Citizens of Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco are being treated to some three-dimensional March madness from the guys and gals at Nintendo. For the remainder of this month, Ninty's 3DS handheld will be available to try and play in so-called Demo Pods (see above) at strategic locations in each marquee city. The Mii Maker app, nintendogs + cats, Madden NFL Football, Aslphalt 3D, and a selection of other games will be preloaded and waiting for you, letting you have a taste of what's to come on March 27th. See Nintendo's PR after the break for the full details.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: ice castles, cardboard columns, and the Geneva Auto Show
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. This week Inhabitat showcased several jaw-dropping feats of architecture, starting with a series of amazingly complex computer-designed cardboard columns that boast between 8 and 16 million facets. We were also struck by a stunning new net-zero Solar Academy in Germany, and we showcased a Swiss chalet that is the world's first apartment building to be heated entirely by solar thermal energy. On the cooler end of the climate spectrum, a Minnesota man has created a series of soaring ice castles using water from his geothermal heating system. The Geneva Auto Show also kicked off with a bang this week as Koenigsegg unveiled its supercharged Agera R racer and SAAB rose from the ashes with a futuristic PhoeniX hybrid. We also heard big news from some of the world's most luxurious automakers as Bentley rolled out a biofuel-powered supercar that can go 200 MPH on ice and Rolls-Royce unveiled their all-electric 102 EX Phantom. Two-wheeled transportation also took a leap forward as Daymak unveiled the world's first wireless electric eBike and Los Angeles approved plans for 1,690 miles of bikeways. We also kept on the cutting edge of consumer tech with a look at the green credentials of Apple's iPad 2, and we brought you researchers' plans for a hot new breed of batteries made from "frozen smoke". Finally, we learned from a recent study that cellphone signals actually boost brain activity, and we shared a fresh new line of iPod nano watch straps just in time for spring.
Visualized: KIRFer's paradise
LA lovers of things that Keep it Real Fake, finding your next knockoff might be a little harder than anticipated. The Los Angeles police just busted a warehouse full of knock-offs, things like GiPhones, iPhoncs, PNPs, and Poops. Among all this junk, some $10 million worth, two dudes were found and arrested -- two dudes who had records showing more than $7 million in profits. It seems KIRFing does pay, for a little while at least.
Fake iPhones seized from LA warehouse
Police in the port of Los Angeles have seized what they say is over $10 million worth of counterfeit Apple devices from a warehouse. The fake iPods, iPhones and iPod touches were reportedly brought in from Asia recently, and they were supposedly going to be sold around CES this past year, duping customers into thinking they were buying real Apple products for cheap. Not that cheap, though -- the cops also reportedly found receipts in the warehouse, along with other stolen and counterfeit merchandise, that pointed to the whole facility bringing in around $7 million in profit. Two brothers have been arrested, and the two of them face a total of four felony counts for the sale of counterfeit goods. The seizure was the result of an ongoing stolen cargo investigation that had the Port Police looking around warehouses in Los Angeles and Vernon, CA late last year.
Record number of aircraft 'laser events' gives us one more reason to hate LA
Are you that kid aiming his father's laser pointer at people walking along city sidewalks? Yeah, well stop it -- now. What you might consider a harmless prank can have serious repercussions when aimed at the cockpit of an approaching jetliner. What seems like good fun at the time can temporarily blind a pilot attempting to land nearly a million pounds of life, metal, and fuel. According to the numbers just released by the FAA, 2010 saw a record number of reports of lasers pointed at aircraft -- "almost double" the number of reports from 2009. Of the 2,800 incidents reported nationwide, the Los Angeles area reported the most with 201 incidents, followed by Chicago (98), Phoenix (80, half of which were probably UFO related), and San Jose (80 -- nerds!). Top 20 list after the break.
Sprint and Clearwire deliver WiMAX to Los Angeles, Ohio, Miami and Washington DC, promise SF on December 28th
Seems like Sprint wants to get every last lick of 4G coverage in before Verizon flips the switch on LTE -- today, its joint venture with Clearwire is launching WiMAX in the City of Angels a day ahead of schedule. Lest you think Los Angeles is getting special treatment, five other cellular markets can now also get a taste of 5Mbps to 7Mbps download speeds, including Miami, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and our nation's capitol, Washington D.C. That brings the total number of regions where you'll get some mileage out of that $10 surcharge up to 68, in case you're keeping track. What's next? If the press release after the break is correct, San Francisco will finally satisfy its need for speed on December 28th. Not that any of these locales haven't been secretly enjoying 4G already, of course.
Sprint and Clearwire set to launch WiMAX in Los Angeles by December 1st
The headline says it all on this one, folks. Thanks to a tweet by Sprint representative Stephanie Vinge we know that company and Clearwire will be flipping the switch on 4G service in LA sometime before December 1st, following on recent successes in New York City, Tampa, Hartford, and many other lovely locales. Of course, we all know it isn't actually 4G, but it's as close as we're going to get right now, and we'll certainly take it. Update: Lots of folks are indicating WiMAX is already well and truly working in the greater Los Angeles area, so go ahead and enjoy those download speeds early -- unofficially, of course. [Image courtesy Sten Rüdrich]
MacTech 2010: Wil Shipley on Noogle Noggles, a new Delicious Library and the Mac App Store
Wil Shipley is probably the premiere Mac developer -- he co-founded The Omni Group, and now runs Delicious Monster, whose Delicious Library app pretty much embodies the best of this platform we love so much. Wil kindly sat down to talk with me at last week's MacTech 2010 conference here in Los Angeles, and we chatted about what's next for Delicious Library, what the response was like to his company's Noogle Noggles app, and what he believes is in store for Apple's upcoming Mac App Store. Shipley began by saying he was a little disappointed with the way Noogle Noggles worked out -- the idea was, of course, to beat Google Goggles to the App Store, and Google worked faster than he expected. "We thought we were going to beat them by two and a half months, but they beat us by a day." Still, the app has seen a solid chunk of downloads so far. "Last I checked it was 35,000 people, and I'm like that's a pretty good number of people for working on something for a month." Photo by Flickr user Inju, licensed under Creative Commons.
MetroPCS' new Metro USA service features nationwide coverage, LTE comes to Philly and LA
MetroPCS' march toward a full LTE overlay continues today on news that it's expanding its nascent (and still tiny) next-gen network to Philadelphia and Los Angeles, two huge markets that should do a good job of stress testing what the network is capable of. As with its existing LTE markets, the only device available is the Samsung Craft, a landscape QWERTY slider dumbphone that offers access to the carrier's video-on-demand library on a 3.3-inch AMOLED display for $299 (no contract, mind you) after a $50 rebate. The move brings MetroPCS' launch total to five markets, with plans to expand to another nine in the coming months. On a related note, the carrier has also introduced its so-called Metro USA service, essentially a brand name for nationwide coverage -- MetroPCS claims over 90 percent of the population, which ain't bad. Though it won't go into details, they're saying that the coverage has been reached through a combination of "both network expansion and roaming agreements" and that customers can expect a mix of 1xRTT and EV-DO (2G and 3G data, that is) as they move around. Follow the break for both press releases.
Sprint promises WiMAX in NYC on November 1, LA on December 1, and San Francisco a few weeks later
The fact that Sprint and Clearwire have teamed up to deliver WiMAX to New York, LA, and San Francisco isn't news. In fact, we've already seen the networks light up in operational readiness modes on the way to full consumer availability. But now we've got dates, the first specifics that we can recall for these cities. Now, according to both Clearwire and Sprint, New York's WiMAX service will go live on November 1st, LA's on December 1st, and San Francisco sometime around the end of December. We'll see if those early 5Mbps to 7Mbps download / 1.2Mbps upload speeds we've experienced can be maintained once the service meets the crush of the big city horde. Of course, this is nothing but good news for wireless consumers who'll also see Verizon light up its competing LTE network in these cities (38 in total) at about the same time.
Raytheon's 'pain ray' to be installed in LA County jail, Charlie Sheen contemplating move to Portland
Raytheon's been cranking on its 10,000 pound Silent Guardian for years now, and we always try to keep abreast of its... progress. The device, popularly known as a 'pain gun,' is a non-lethal weapon designed to deliver an overwhelming heat to say, members of a mob scene or rioters at a prison, causing an immediate flight response. The Air Force, which helped test the device, has assured the world of its safety, and recently the devices went on sale. So what's next for the Silent Guardian? Installation at the LA County jail in Castaic, where a large scale riot recently broke out, injuring more than 20 people and lasting well over an hour. Now, we're in no position to form an opinion about whether the pain ray is going to help situations like these or not, but we're pretty sure of one thing: it'll likely have little to no effect the next time Britney Spears is brought in.
Sprint announces seven new WiMAX markets, says 'Let AT&T and Verizon yak about maps and 3G coverage'
Sprint's just announced some more markets for its planned 4G expansion, among them Los Angeles and Miami, plus Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City and St. Louis. That's right: WiMAX is coming to penetrate the Steel Curtain. In addition to the markets previously announced at the end of February (New York, San Francisco, Boston, Denver, Kansas City, Houston, Minneapolis, and Washington, DC), the list is starting to look a lot like that "many markets" we've been promised. While we're still not getting launch dates, it's clear that Sprint's on an aggressive path here -- and an apparently leaked internal email we just got from a tipster confirms that pretty blatantly. Supposedly penned by Joe Whited, the Manager of Corporate Communications at Sprint, the email appears to have been aimed at pumping up Sprint employees based on this morning's announcement: "Let AT&T and Verizon yak about maps and 3G coverage, we're moving forward with what customers really want -- lightening [sic.] fast internet and uncapped 4G service." Fighting words, friends -- and the addition of major markets like Los Angeles and Miami are surely an upping of the game. Full press release is after the break.
Sezmi launches $20 per month cable/satellite alternative today in L.A.
After a trial period, Sezmi is finally available to those looking for a way out from under overloaded and overpriced cable and satellite TV packages. $299 fetches the Sezmi System, with 1TB HD Media Recorder, OTA antenna and remote, then choose either a $5/month Select Service plan limited to whatever broadcast networks you can pull in plus IPTV sources and VOD (YouTube, CinemaNow, etc.) or the Sezmi Select Plus package at $19.99 which adds familiar premium networks including USA, CNN, MTV, Syfy and more, also delivered over antenna. In case you like what you're hearing, all that traditional TV and internet content gets blended together in the company's unique UI (check out our CES 2010 hands-on for a preview) that can be personalized for each person in the house. Of course the revolution isn't without its downsides, it's currently only available in the L.A. area (Select Service goes nationwide this spring, with Plus expansions planned for the summer) while a lack of ESPN and no HD on any of the premium channels will serve to kill its appeal for some. Don't plan on grabbing one at the Burbank Buy More either since it's a Best Buy exclusive for now, but if your zip code and TV watching needs fit the description then check out the introduction video and press release embedded after the break.
Belkin releases FM transmitter with iPhone app for finding clear stations
Belkin has announced the release of their latest FM transmitter for the iPhone and iPod touch, the TuneCast Auto Live. You know these things -- they plug into your iPhone or iPod touch's dock connector, and then send a local FM signal out to your car's radio, enabling wireless transmission of your music or podcasts. I've got a Belkin transmitter already (the TuneCast Auto -- more on that in a second), but I'm interested in this new one, because it can be used with a free iPhone app [iTunes link] that will actually use your iPhone's GPS information to find a good station for you right away. That seems helpful -- my current issue with my Belkin is that here in Los Angeles, where the radio stations are almost as thick as the fast food joints, I can't seem to find a solid station to keep it on that's clear enough to actually listen to. If you're in a busy urban area, there's so many signals flying around that these transmitters are more or less useless. I don't know if the GPS app would help me (seems like I'd have to keep changing the car's station while I move even if I could find a clear signal here in the city), but if you're in the market for an FM transmitter and are in a place with a little more room on the radio dial, the $79.99 TuneCast is as good a choice as any. As for me, I'll probably go for an aux hookup straight into my dash the next time I have some car audio upgrade money.
FanGuide self-guided architectural tours for iPhone
Fans of great architecture love to take guided or self-guided tours to learn more about the buildings or homes designed by classic architects like Mies van der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Louis Sullivan. Guided tours are usually somewhat expensive and subject to the knowledge and whims of the tour guide, while self-guided tours can force architecture buffs to juggle books, maps, and MP3 players while searching for the details of a particular architect or style. These frustrations were the impetus behind the creation of the FanGuide Tour & Audio Companion iPhone apps by Prairie Design Group. I recently had an opportunity to test the Chicago Loop Architecture Guide [US$2.99, iTunes Link], and wish that this app had been available a few years back when I was visiting the Windy City. Featuring an elegant and easy-navigated user interface, the Chicago Loop Architecture Guide provides six tours, each with anywhere from 5 to 9 stops. The tours range in length from 30 minutes to a full hour, and stops for food, coffee, or photography can stretch out the time. Tapping on a globe icon during a tour provides a Google map view of a stop, overlaid with a photo of the building and arrows that point you to the previous or next stop. You don't need a cellular connection to use the app; there are also self-contained offline maps that are more than sufficient to provide you with location information.
Sezmi's low cost cable / satellite premium TV alternative launches in L.A.
Ready for yet another way to watch TV? Sezmi has just gone on the air in Los Angeles, offering its unique blend of premium OTA and internet delivered video to a few limited trial users. $5 a month brings whatever local networks you can pull in, basic IPTV (YouTube, OnNetworks, podcasts) and internet VOD (CinemaNow) access, while throwing an Andrew Jackson on top of that adds "more than 100 cable TV networks," delivered via antenna. According to the L.A. Times that doesn't include any channels from the Disney or Fox family like ESPN, regional sports networks or premium movie channels, but if those are already stations you're avoiding, it's a cheaper option than most cable TV plans. Other than the allure of sticking it to the current distribution model, the 1TB DVR package includes a rather unique UI to aggregate and even seek out new shows for you from those varied sources, while maintaining individual profiles for different users. The three month trial has just the right price -- free -- so even with little info on how much high definition Sezmi's network can handle or what areas or channels will be added next, it's at least worth a look.
AT&T slinging HSPA 7.2 to six cities this year, adding backhaul capacity too
If there's one thing AT&T's network could use, it's more network. Particularly in major cities (we're looking at you and your dastardly street parking situation, San Francisco), AT&T's 3G network is perpetually overwhelmed, oftentimes forcing users to switch to EDGE just to tweet about how awful the coverage is. Thankfully, the operator is making good on its earlier promise to roll out HSPA 7.2Mbps to select cities, with Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and Miami now destined to get lit this year. Potentially more interesting, however, is the deployment of "additional backhaul capacity to cell sites," which will also support LTE when the time comes. All told, around 2,000 new cell sites should be added before the year's end, and at least a half dozen 7.2Mbps-capable smartphones should be in AT&T's portfolio by the same deadline. Feel free to express your joy in comments below -- that is, if you can get comments to load on your existing 3G connection.
L.A. Live convention center / hotel includes gigantic, see-through outdoor screen
The 54-story tower planned to house The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Los Angeles and JW Marriott when it opens in 2010 will also include an 8,000 sq ft screen on its eastern face, without disrupting the view of guests inside. The result of a deal between property owners AEG and sponsor Panasonic, the 50-foot by 160-foot screen will live in the neighborhood of the new Yankee Stadium and the Dallas Cowboys new home. No word on the exact res, but there will no doubt be plenty of HD as the entire complex, including Staples Center and Nokia Theatre, is getting Panasonic screens installed as part of the deal. Our reservations are already in, check after the break for an illustration of the future layout.
AT&T brings U-verse Weather On Demand to Los Angeles and Columbus
Hey, remember that AccuWeather portal that launched earlier this month on AT&T's U-verse? Looks like the outfit is on the rollout train, as it's bringing the service to U-verse TV subscribers in both Columbus, Ohio and Los Angeles, California. For those unaware, the free Weather On Demand service is an "interactive feature that allows U-verse TV customers to find the weather information they want, in the city they want, at the time they want -- all at the touch of a button." 'Course, you could just look outside and / or trust the weatherman, but where's the fun in that?Read - Columbus rolloutRead - Los Angeles rollout
New load of HD channels comes to TWC in greater Los Angeles area
Slowly but surely, the residents in and around Los Angeles, California are catching up to their even-more-southern California brethren in the TWC HD department. Beginning November 19th, a whole gaggle of new stations will be arriving in a whole slew of new areas. As for channels, look for Animal Planet HD (451), Travel Channel HD (452), Planet Green HD (453), The Weather Channel HD (454), FX HD (456), Bio HD (457), Science Channel HD (460), Toon Disney HD (461), Cartoon Network HD (462), FOX News HD (465), FOX Business Network HD (466), ESPNU HD (467), SPEED HD (468), NBA TV HD (470), NHL Network HD (471), Tennis Channel HD (473), Lifetime Movie Network HD (475), Hallmark Movie Channel HD (476), HBO East HD (481), Cinemax East HD (482), Showtime East HD (483), The Movie Channel West HD (484), Starz East HD (485), INDemand Sports HD (732) and INDemand Sports HD 2 (733). Phew. Check the read link for all the specific areas for which these are destined. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Thanks, Scott]
