Tech Shout!

So we are back again to the weekend where we collate all the interesting and the most happening news in the Town of Technology and present it to you in form of Weekly News Roundup. This week we have had a basket full of news that created ripples in the world of technology.

Starting off with the surprise thrown in by Microsoft who shook the news columns and gaming zones. Microsoft announced at E3 that the 20GB Xbox 360 model will face a $50 price cut and if that news wasn’t sufficient to shock gamers, Microsoft also announced the availability of the new 60GB version Xbox 360 gaming console. The huge 60GB storage space gives users to store more data such as music, movies, television shows and game content as well. The 20GB Xbox 360 will price itself at $299 in US and Canada and the 60GB version launches at a Read the rest of this story >>

It seems a lot of AT&T customers are now upset with the carrier and the reason for this is still quite sketchy. Apparently, at first the AT&T website had a message that read “AT&T knows Wi-Fi is hot, and free Wi-Fi even hotter, which is why we are proud to offer iPhone customers free access to the nation’s largest Wi-Fi hotspot network with more than 17,000 hotspots, including Starbucks. Now users can relax and access music, e-mail and web browsing services with their favorite blend in hand from the comfort of their favorite location.”

Now the company spokesperson Seth Bloom tells Ars Technica that, “We have not made any announcement regarding free Wi-Fi and iPhone. Wi-Fi is a real differentiator for AT&T and it is our intention to make it available to as many customers as possible.”

What is happening? Did the AT&T people think they could rehearse their advertising strategies before Read the rest of this story >>

Zotac International announced to release its latest graphic cards in India. The Zotac GeForce 9800 GTX+ and GeForce 9800 GTX+ AMP Edition are the new arrivals, which are based on Nvidia’s GeForce 9800 graphics architecture.

Each individual processor core features an ultra-fast clock speed of 1836 MHz on the Zotac GeForce 9800 GTX+ and 1890 MHz on the ZOTAC GeForce 9800 GTX+ AMP Edition. Zotac claims that both the graphic cards are ready to take on all 3D related tasks from gaming to high-definition video playback.

“With the latest generation of ZOTAC GeForce 9-series graphics cards, the clock speed and performance of each individual processor core has become an important performance aspect,” said Carsten Berger, marketing director, Zotac International. “The highly clocked processor cores in our ZOTAC GeForce 9800 GTX+ and GeForce 9800 GTX+ AMP Edition deliver higher performance Read the rest of this story >>

Yesterday itself it was clear that Nintendo Wii was the best selling console in US for June. However, today NDP Group has officially announced that Wii has surpassed PS3 and Xbox 360 sales and is been the best selling console for June 2006.

Nintendo Wii has always been a popular console worldwide. But this is the first time after 20 months when Wii has outsold its competitors. According to the NPD Group, more than 666,000 Wii consoles were sold in June 2008. In all, 10.9 million units of the Wii have been sold in US since the launch of the console in November 2006.

“Wii was created with the goal of expanding the gaming universe through its intuitive motion-sensing controller,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales and Marketing. Read the rest of this story >>

European Union (EU) launched an inquiry on Thursday that might save all of us from shady websites offering mobile phone services that are widely spread over the internet.

EU commissioner Meglena Kuneva’s crackdown on websites offering phone ringtones, wallpapers and video games revealed that 80 percent of the 558 websites that were investigated upon performed unscrupulous activities.

“Far too many people are falling victim to costly surprises from mysterious charges, fees and ringtone subscriptions they learn about for the first time when they see their mobile-phone bill,” Kuneva said during a news conference, reports PC World. “There will be Europe-wide enforcement action to track down each of these traders.”

Apparently, it has been identified that these sites lure users by promoting their services as free, however, hidden costs are printed in fine prints on the website, which are difficult to notice and these bound the user Read the rest of this story >>

If you like spy type gadgets, here is a neat one for you. ThinkGeek is offering a watch that has a hidden compartment which stores a tiny USB drive, perfect for those secret missions.

The USB dive watch features a 4GB capacity USB flash drive, which can is cleverly hidden into the case of the watch. You can remove the USB drive from its case, add data and re-insert it back into the case in a jiffy.

The watch looks smart with its plastic case covering by stainless steel mask with brushed silver finish and convex mineral glass with shiny raised index.

Further the watch features black polyurethane strap and Luminescent hands. Its dial measures 1.1″ x 1″ (29 x 25mm). While the flash drive measures 1.5″ x .5″ x .25″ (38 x 13 x 6mm)

The watch with hidden flash drive is available on ThinkGeek’s online store for the price of $60.

Just few days ago, Sony announced the 80 GB variant of the PlayStation 3. To make its console more enjoyable Sony has now rolled out the new peripheral named PlayTV PS3 tuner.

David Reeves, SCEE president confirmed the availability date of the PlayTV PS3 tuner during an interview with Eurogamer. The latest peripheral will be available in the European market from September 10.

“Yep, it’s going to be 10th September that PlayTV comes out,” Reeves said to Eurogamer.com.

The PlayTV PS3 tuner is an add-on for the PS3 that allows users to record TV programs and enjoy gameplay simultaneously.

Apparently the PlayTV PS3 tuner is expected to be available at EUR 99.

Samson has released new the StudioDock 3i USB studio monitor speakers. The latest Samson speaker system features a built-in iPod dock and a USB interface. The StudioDock 3i syncs with iTunes library and automatically charges the iPod while it is docked.

It features an onboard USB port which allows users to play content in USB devices or in the computer. Conventional 3.5mm auxiliary input jack and a headphone output jack are also incorporated at the front side of the StudioDock 3i.

Additionally the system sports a bass reflex vented cabinet design, 15 watts of internal power per side and rear Panel RCA inputs. Besides, the StudioDock 3i USB studio monitor speakers are equipped with 2 Meter, 18-gauge speaker cable and passive crossovers utilizing multi-pole design for linear response.

“We could not be more pleased with the StudioDock 3i. The iPod docking capabilities and USB functionality combined Read the rest of this story >>

Logitech, the Swiss manufacturer of digital lifestyle peripherals is rolling out its 4-port USB Hub for Notebooks and Premium and 4-Port USB Hub for Notebooks, in India.

“Executive travel compels us to have thin and light notebooks. This, usually, ends up in scaling down of some notebook features to enhance portability. One such feature that is sacrificed is the USB port. Many products today connect to the notebook through this port. These include printers, mice, webcams, notebook stands, digital cameras, Internet data cards, pen drives; the list is growing by the day.” says Subrotah Biswas, Country Manager, India & SAARC, Logitech.

“In order to cater to make the lives of notebook users easier, we have added these hi-speed USB Hubs to our already existing wide range of notebook peripherals,” added Biswas

Both the USB hubs - the Logitech 4-Port USB 2.0 Hub for notebooks and the Logitech Premium Read the rest of this story >>

The June NPD sales data has put the Nintendo Wii at the top of the pedestal declaring that the console’s sales has surpassed Microsoft Xbox 360’s sales. The NPD report gave results of sales of video game software and hardware in US in the month of June.

Topping the list in the games software section is the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots from Kojima followed by Guitar Hero: On Tour. The games from Nintendo have occupy the last three slot out of the top five, with the Ninja Gaiden II coming third and Wii Fit and Wii Play in the fourth and fifth positions.

The June hardware sales declare Nintendo DS the topper in US market with a sale of 783,000 units. Wii features second with a sale of 666,700 units. The PS3 is third favourite 405,500 of its units being sold out. PSP, Xbox and PlayStation 2 have soled out 337,4000 units, 219,800 units and 188,800 units respectively.